


Strange Days of Arcadia Bay

by fragileKnight1



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fluff, Paranormal, amberpricefield, chasemarsh, devilVictoria, pricefield, saintKate, vampireRachel, werewolfChloe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:36:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 17
Words: 37,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27685694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fragileKnight1/pseuds/fragileKnight1
Summary: Arcadia Bay on the surface looks a normal little town but in truth it has been a haven for the cursed, the forgotten, and the demonic since it was founded. The humans living here live in a blissful ignorance of the creatures that walk among them but for Max and Kate they will discover what lies beneath the surface and end up fighting for not only their souls but for the sanity as the town moves closer toward its destruction.
Relationships: Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Chloe Price, Rachel Amber/Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Chloe Price, Victoria Chase/Kate Marsh
Comments: 93
Kudos: 61





	1. Chapter 1

Kate loved being a part of the Blackwell Cleaning Council because besides keeping the school clean it gave her a chance to just hang with Max and Chloe. The only time it really felt like a chore was after a Vortex Club party. Then she hated it. She hated it more than she hated the Vortex Club. If the club was run by anyone besides the son of the family that owned the school it would have been shut down but Nathan always made sure that the club kept on going with one wild party after another.

She cleaned the trash from around the base of the Tobanga and moved into the trees behind it where she found a pentagram made of smooth white stones with strange looking metal sculptures hanging from the branches above it.

She grimaced at the sight of literal piles of dirty condoms and started to take down the sculptures, but as she worked on the one hanging over the center of the pentagram she sliced open her hand causing blood to drip down onto the stones.

The ground started to vibrate and a noxious black smoke started to hiss out from below the ground. When it faded Kate found herself standing face to face to Victoria except she didn't remember Victoria having horns, piranha teeth, or cloven hooves.

Victoria looked at Kate with her cat-like eyes wide with shock and looked down at her phone as she hung up the call before she said, "Well fuck."

Kate backed up with her right hand gripping the cross around her neck. "Victoria?"

"No?" Victoria smiled, "I am just a hallucination caused by...uh...mushroom spores."

Kate took a deep breath and held up the cross, "Get out of Victoria you foul creature!"

Victoria raised her hands to block the view of the cross and shouted, "Put that down it is like you are shining a flashlight right into my eyes! I am not in Victoria. I am Victoria. My real name is Vixaphael."

"You are an actual demon." Kate lowered the cross a little, "What do you want with me?"

"Me? Why would I want something from you? You are the one..." Victoria looked at Kate's hand and then to the bloody sculpture above her head, "This was a complete accident wasn't it? Listen I can't leave until you break the circle so can you do a girl a favor?"

Kate nervously kicked apart the stones, "Now what?"

"We forget this ever happened." Victoria took a deep breath and returned to normal, "If you keep my secret I will stop harassing you and I will stop defacing you Bible Club posters with my pictures of sexy stripper Jesus."

"I am not sure if I trust you." Kate let go of the cross, "I am not even really sure what I should do now. One part of me wants scream right now and the other wants me to smack you with Bible."

"Well I am going back to my room to have a shot of tequila with a vodka chaser." Victoria walked past Kate, "You can do whatever you want."

"WAIT!", Kate yelled, "You can't just walk away. I have too many questions."

"And I have too few fucks to give." Victoria smirked, "Go to your room. I might send Taylor to explain things."

"Is she a demon as well?"

"You can ask her yourself." Victoria looked at Kate's wounded hand and sighed before walking over to kiss the back of it, "There that was for free. Now you don't have to worry about an infection or stitches."

Kate looked at the fresh scar across her palm and said, "Thank you."

Victoria rolled her eyes and said "Just don't tell anyone I did that."

"Don't worry, I won't." Kate smiled, "This will be our secret."

\-------

Max grimaced as she used tongs to pick up the bra from the flower bed and looked over at Chloe who was still smiling despite the fact she was scrubbing vomit off the side of the dormitory. Kate had guilt tripped her into joining the Blackwell Cleaning Council, and in turn she guilt tripped Chloe hoping that they could at least be miserable together only for some bizarre reason Chloe was enjoying herself.

"You aren't normal." Max shivered when shivered when she found the panties to match the bra, "How are you enjoying this?"

"Max this reminds me community service." Chloe laughed, "And those are some of my happiest memories. You meet some real fun people while working in a chain gang."

"I am going to smack you with these nasties if you don't stop smiling." Max was about to throw the panties into the trash bag with the bra when Chloe walked over, "Don't you dare say it."

"Say what?" Chloe laughed, "That I would love have you smack me with your nasties? I bet they are pink and covered in flowers."

Max blushed and shook her head, "Have you seen Kate?"

Chloe leaned in closer and said, "Afraid to be alone with me? Afraid I might do something to you that you might like?"

"Oh look we missed a pile of beer cans by Samuel's shed." Max backed away from Chloe before she could spontaneously combust from the heat surging through her body, "We better clean that up."

"Max," Chloe picked up her bucket of soapy water, "I know I have said this before, but everything just feels better now that you are back. These last three weeks have been some of the best in the last five years."

"And I am happy to have the jelly back to my peanut butter." Max laughed, "But I still want to meet your mystery paramour, Rachel."

"First me and Rachel aren't…uh...paramours." Chloe shook her head, "And she wants to meet you but...uh...it’s complicated. Don't worry it will happen but not until she is ready to meet you."

"Uh huh." Max started to pick up the beer cans but backed away when she found a bloody knife, "Oh God. What do we do?"

Chloe picked the knife up and shrugged, "Don't worry it isn't human. Its deer blood."

Max looked at Chloe as she said, "How can you tell?"

Chloe froze and bit her lip before saying, "I just can...?"

"Chloe, you are weird." Max shook her head, "I think we are finished."

"Not quite." Chloe pointed up, "There is more garbage up in this tree."

Max looked up at the toilet paper and shoes hanging from the branches and said, "I hate the Vortex Club."


	2. Chapter 2

A few days after the incident in the woods Kate was relaxing on her bed and trying to draw a scene featuring a girl with golden freckles in a brilliant yellow dress. She wanted to avoid Victoria and it staying in her room seemed to be the best way to do it, but that plan fell apart when Victoria walked in wearing a long red jacket and shut the door behind her. She looked around at the pictures of Kate's family and used a pencil to close the open Bible on the desk before saying, "So Kate how are you doing? Are you feeling okay?"

"I am fine." Kate put away her drawing pad, "If this is about the other thing you said we were to forget about it and I keep my word."

“Are we seriously not going to talk about what happened?”

“While it was shocking to see your true form.” Kate smiled, “I am not at all surprised that you are Satan’s spawn.”

“I wish I was one of that douche’s children.” Victoria laughed, “If I was I wouldn’t be stuck in the situation I am in right now.”

“What is wrong?

"The Lords of the Lower Hells are saying that I am bound to you until I get your soul or you kill me.” Victoria crossed her arms. “Turns out you are a literal saint. A soul that is free of sin so I figure we could play along with what they want or…”

Kate stood and said, “Or what?”

Victoria untied the sash around her coat and dropped it to reveal she was wearing nothing underneath, “Or we can sin a little.”

Kate just froze as feelings took hold of her she had never thought possible. Her throat went dry as her eyes looked over Victoria and she found herself going limp as Victoria’s hands took hold of her waist. The feel of Victoria’s skin sent chills up her arms as she let her hands take their places on Victoria’s back and her own body betrayed her as Victoria bit down gently on her neck. She had to feel Victoria’s lips on hers and her prayer was answered seconds later.

Victoria slid her left hand down Kate’s back as she pushed her against the bedside table and Kate helped it find its way back up as it slid her skirt up. She wanted more. She wanted to give Victoria everything that she had promised to reserve, but before they could go any farther Victoria’s lips left hers and a soft voice said, “We can’t do this.”

Kate took a deep breath, and tried to kiss Victoria again, “I want this.”

“No.” Victoria pulled away completely, “This is wrong. I shouldn’t force this on you.”

“You aren’t.” Kate straightened her clothes and took Victoria’s hand, “What is wrong?”

“This was a trick.” Victoria shook her head, “I was trying to trick you out of your soul by using my powers to seduce you.”

“Oh...” Kate felt her heart break a little but then she saw something in Victoria’s eyes that told her that Victoria had felt the same thing she did when they were kissing, “Then what will we do?”

“Since you and I are bound I won’t be able to leave your side.” Victoria summoned a long black blade, “This stiletto will destroy this form of mine. In a way you will be killing me.”

“Absolutely not!” Kate shook her head and threw the blade across the room, “We can find another way to break free of what they did to us.”

“I don’t think...”

Kate picked up the coat that Victoria dropped and slipped it around Victoria before hugging her, “I have faith in us. We can break free.”

Victoria took a deep breath and said, “You almost make me want to believe that. Alright if we are going stay bound for now we will need to a cover story to explain why we have to be together all of the time."

"That is easy." Kate smiled, "We are simply dating."

"No one will believe that." Victoria pulled away from Kate, "But I suppose we can make it work."

\------

Max knelt down to take a picture of the full moon being reflected in the oily pool of water and froze when she heard a loud howl echo through the trees. She looked up to see a dark shadow dance through the trees and abandoned all commonsense as she followed. The shadow left a noticeable trail behind and she was able to easily follow it to a large clearing bathed in the light of the full moon where a massive grey and black wolf was resting. Its fur was shining in the light and it kept its eyes upward as if it was praying to the moon.

Max raised her camera and froze when the shutter clicked. The wolf turned its gaze from the moon to her. "Sorry wolfie I didn't mean to disturb you."

The wolf start to walk toward her and Max started to back up but stumbled over a root and fell.

"I promise that I am not as tasty as I look. You would be better off finding a juicy rabbit or something."

The wolf stop when it was standing over her and it sniffed at her neck before laying down on her. It started to lick her and Max tried to push it away as she started to laugh, but slowly she realized that the wolf was changing. It was becoming lighter and the fur was fading until she was no longer being licked by wolf and was instead being kissed by Chloe.

Max was too shocked to talk so Chloe did it for her by saying, "You were very wrong. You are very juicy and very tasty. You are the perfect snack for a hungry wolf like me."

"You...How...What..." Max forced herself to sit up causing Chloe to slide down onto her lap, "What the fuck, Chloe?"

"Well I am a werewolf." Chloe laughed, "I thought that was obvious."

"No, I mean how are you a werewolf." Max looked at the scars hidden by Chloe's sleeve tattoo, "You lied when you said those were from a dog bite didn't you."

Chloe held up her arm, "I was attacked by a werewolf after this absolute rager out at the old saw mill. Would have been killed if not for Rachel."

"Rachel was able to chase it off?"

"No she killed it." Chloe laughed, "Ripped its heart out of its chest and then stitched my arm up."

"She ripped its heart out of its chest?" Max swallowed, "What is she? A vampire?"

"Wow you got it in on the first try." Chloe looked up as a cloud moved over the moon, "We better continue this in either my room or your room. It is going to rain."

"But..." Max looked up as a drop of water hit her and said, "How?"

"Wolf senses." Chloe stood and lifted Max up into her arms, "So your room or mine?"

"Mine." Max smiled, "Yours smells like wet dog...which now makes perfect sense."

"Cracking jokes already?" Chloe laughed and started to run as the rain started to fall harder, "I should have known that a geek like you wouldn't freak out about this."

Max smiled, ""Well you are still Chloe."

Chloe carried Max all the way up to Max's room before finally letting her down and said, "I will try to answer any questions you may have."

Max adjusted her clothes and took off her hoody before sitting down on her bed. She looked to Chloe who kicked off her boots and sprawled out on the couch, "What is it like?"

"Transforming is like riding out a really good high. You sort of fall away from your body for a moment and then drift back in." Chloe smiled, "At first it hurt like hell but soon it becomes as easy as changing your clothes."

"And you can only change during the full moon?"

"I can change whenever I feel like it, but can't stop myself when a full moon is out." Chloe looked out the window, "It is like this ancient voice is calling out to me and I have to obey."

Max nodded, "So is the reason I never see Rachel because she is a vampire?"

"Sort of." Chloe laughed, "She got stressed out back in May and asked me to bury her deep until October. Its close enough now for me to dig her up. Want to help me do that tomorrow?"

"I do!" Max smiled, "Where is she?"

"At the junkyard." Chloe moved over to the bed and said, "So, Max, want to give me a belly rub?"

Max blushed and said, "Chloe...Why do you make those kinds of jokes with me?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Chloe wrapped her arm around Max, "I want to ravish you. I want you to cry out my name so loudly everyone on this floor and the floor below can hear you."

"That isn't funny." Max fidgeted, "I..."

Chloe pressed her forehead against Max's, "Relax, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

Max let out a sigh of relief and hugged Chloe, "Sorry it’s just that I..."

"It was just a joke." Chloe rubbed her hand up and down Max's arm, "Nothing more so don't you worry about it."

"Do you want to stay here tonight?"

"Only if you want me to."

Max moved up on the bed and laid down before moving over so that Chloe could lay down beside her. She wrapped her arms around Chloe and pulled her in close before closing her eyes. She drifted asleep to the smell of rain, moss, and pine, and had dreams of dancing with Chloe under the light of the full moon.


	3. Chapter 3

Kate looked at Victoria giving commands to Taylor and Courtney and then went back to her drawing of a demon queen sitting on a throne with two witches kneeling at her feet. If anything were to come out of the strangeness it was the new story she was writing.

After a few minutes Max walked over and sat down beside her as she finished the apple she was eating. She looked at the drawing and said, "That is a very good Victoria."

"What makes you think I am drawing Victoria?" Kate smiled, "I could be just drawing."

"Well you keep looking over at her." Max smiled, "So what is going on between you two? I have noticed that she has stopped bullying you and this morning you were getting a little too friendly in the showers."

Kate blushed and shook her head, "That was nothing. She was just trying to give me tips on my hair but I like the way I do it."

"Are you two dating or something?" Max looked at Victoria, "I mean if you are that would only be the second weirdest thing that I would hear this morning."

"The second weirdest?" Kate laughed a little, "What is the first?"

"Chloe asked me if I wanted a bacon, chocolate pudding, and peanut butter sandwich." Max stood, "Listen you can tell me later if you want. I am going to the junkyard today with Chloe."

"Have fun." Kate went back to her drawing, "And take lots of pictures."

"You know I will."

Max walked away as Victoria walked over but Kate paid Victoria no attention until she finished detailing the pattern on the queen's robe. Once she was happy with it she finally looked up at Victoria and said, "If you don't mind me asking what is Hell like? I want to draw scenes featuring it for my story and want to get it right."

"It is not like you think. It is not like anyone thinks. It’s a prison meant only for the all things demonic."

Victoria pulled her compact out of her purse and pricked her finger before touching the glass. The blood drifted into the mirror like a fog and when it dissipated the mirror was sweeping over a desolate landscape of ice with black spires twisting downward from a raging storm. In the shadows creatures with flames for eyes were slowly moving and to Kate it seemed like they were watching something she couldn't see in the mirror.

"That is horrid." Kate swallowed, "Is that were I will go if we fail?"

"No." Victoria touched the mirror again, "I do not know what happens if we fail, but if I take your soul you will end up at the Crossroads."

The bloody fog swirled again and this time it showed a foggy bog where thousands of people were crucified on gnarled trees with ravens and vultures tearing at their skin.

Kate's eyes went wide and she gasped as she said, "That is horrific?"

"You would remain in that torment until you give up hope and turn your eyes away from God. After you surrender you will be reborn like I was and then move onto the true torments of Hell." Victoria sighed, "I don't think you would ever break though. A million years could pass there and you would still remain strong."

Kate was about to ask another question when she saw a strange man in a top hat holding a shovel take down one of the souls, "Who is that?"

"Ignore him." Victoria shook her head, "He is not a demon, nor a man, or an angel. He is another of the creations of God meant to aid humanity in their journey from life to death."

Kate paused for a moment and said, "So if humans don't go to Hell without first giving up their soul to a devil deal then what happens to..."

"You don't want to know that answer."

"Yes I do." Kate grabbed Victoria's hand, "You have shown me all of this so show me."

"Normally all souls are sent back into the cycle, but there are those that God turns their back to." Victoria touched the mirror once more to show a place that looked like the sky at night until the mirror move closer to show that the lights were in fact people trying not to sink into the void. "Those that commit atrocities that not even God can forgive are cut from the cycle and are cast into this place."

Kate gasped as something swimming through the void devoured a group of the souls, "What was that?"

"You know its name." Victoria closed the compact. "That is Abaddon, a creature as ancient as God. It rules over the pit and grows fat on the universe's corruption."

"I don't know what to do with this knowledge." Kate took a deep breath and relaxed her grip on Victoria's hand. She closed her eyes for a moment and said, "It is not for me to question God's grand design. I must not allow this to shake my faith."

"Are you sure?" Victoria summoned another stiletto, "I still believe that my death is the best choice for us. I may fade from this world for some time but I will eventually return."

"I won't do that you." Kate threw the blade into the bushes, "You need to stop asking me to do that."

"I am sorry." Victoria sighed, "It is in my nature to seek the easy path."

Kate stood and pulled Victoria to her feet, "My father always told me that from suffering comes salvation. That is how you know you are on the right path."

"That sounds awful." Victoria looked at Kate and touched her cheek gently before pulling away, "I could never be as strong as you."

"I don't know about that." Kate smiled, "It takes a great strength to stand against evil and you have done that."

"What?" Victoria crossed her arms, "I have done no such thing."

Kate smirked and said, "I still have my soul don't I?"

Victoria stood still for a moment while Kate walked away before shouting, "That doesn't prove anything!, and jogging after her with a faint smile on her face.

\------

While Chloe wandered the stacks of garbage and rusted wreckage trying to remember where she buried Rachel Max took the time to take some really nice shots of the junkyard as the setting sun caused the lights to reflect off the cracked headlights and shattered windshields. She finally took one of Chloe standing on an old signpost shaped like a crescent moon before saying, "Figured it out yet?"

"I had it marked, but someone dumped a whole bunch of new junk here since May and I can't even smell her in the dirt because of the stench of decay, mold, and stagnant water is choking the air right now." Chloe hopped down, "I think it was near a washing machine."

Max pointed toward a spot that was mostly car tires and metal poles and said, "You mean like that one propping up that beat up Buick?"

Chloe ran over and yelled, "This is it. I drew a penis in wearing a top hat and monocle on the side so I wouldn't forget."

Max shook her head and picked up the shovels, "You are nasty."

"And it obviously didn't help." Chloe took a shovel as she laughed, "Should have went with Rachel's idea and just wrote a fake headstone for her."

"Here Lies Rachel. Wake Me When the World Makes Sense." Max laughed and smiled when Chloe laughed as well, "So how long as Rachel been a vampire?"

"It is hard to say." Chloe stopped digging, "She changes her story every time she tells it, but I have narrowed down to three likely scenarios. One is that she was a runaway in Hollywood during the fifties who was bitten by a man claiming he could make her a star. The second is a flapper girl in the twenties who went to a private party and became the main appetizer for a bunch of vampiric socialites. The final one is a sixties era disillusioned youth traveling across America who was attacked by a vampiric trucker."

Max stopped digging when she hit a dry cleaning bag and said, "No coffin?"

"Very funny, Max." Chloe rolled her eyes and picked the limp bag up. "Get the shovels and follow me to the truck."

"What are we doing?"

"Well waking a vampire isn't as easy as waking a person." Chloe hopped over a car, "You got to use blood."

"Not mine I hope."

"Rachel has never feasted on a person...That I know of." Chloe waited for Max to come around the car, "She prefers deer blood but I use pig. There is a place down the road that provides meat and other things to people like me."

"You make it sound like Arcadia Bay is full of..." Max paused when she saw the look in Chloe's eyes, "You have to be joking. How many?"

"More than you would be comfortable with."

Chloe pulled a jar of blood out of the cooler and cracked the lid before unzipping the dry cleaning bag. Rachel looked like a porcelain doll. Her skin an alabaster white, her hair a flat brown, and her eyes like glass, but as soon as Chloe started to pour the blood into her mouth the color returned to her skin turning it a dark tan and her iris' turned yellow and then an emerald green.

Rachel took the jar from Chloe and finished off the blood before looking at Max and saying, "Who is this delectable little morsel?"

"I'm Max." Max raised up her camera took a picture of Rachel and frowned when it fully developed, "Chloe already explained everything."

"Now why did you have to go and do that?" Rachel pouted, "I could have had a little fun with her."

"Well I didn't want you to scare her away." Chloe smiled, "She is my..."

"Childhood crush?" Rachel laughed, "I know. I had to hear about you for the past four years. Max this, Max that. I swear you would think that you had died instead of just moving up to Seattle. So Max what has brought you back to Arcadia Bay?"

Max looked at Chloe who was trying to hide her blush and said, "I am going to Blackwell. They have the best photography program on the west coast."

Rachel glided over to Max and whispered, "Do they or was there some other reason you decided to come back? Your heart is racing so I know it true. Tell her."

"Rachel stop whispering to Max." Chloe laughed, "She is not going to go along with any crazy idea you come up with, because she only goes along with my crazy ideas."

Rachel moved over to Chloe and said, "I feel the need to fly so you two have fun, and Max I see why Chloe adores you so."

Max backed up when Rachel transformed into a flock of crows and took a picture as she flew away. "I thought vampires turned into a bat."

"Rachel is different." Chloe smiled and pulled a revolver out of her coat, "Want to have some fun?"

Max backed up in shock and shouted, "Where the hell did you get that?!"

"Relax, I don't keep it loaded." Chloe opened the chamber and spun it to show there were no bullets. "I stopped doing that after I shot myself in the foot."

"Why do you have a gun?"

"For reasons." Chloe smiled and walked over to the passenger side of the truck so that she could pull the ammo out of the glove box. "Now let's find us a car with the windows still intact."

"You are joking right?" Max started to follow Chloe, "You don't expect me to shoot that thing do you?"

"You can help me pick my targets." Chloe wrapped her arm around Max, "I think you should try it at least once though, because it is a total power trip."

"The only way I will shoot anything is with a camera." Max smiled and relaxed into Chloe's embrace, "But I might have trouble seeing soon. I don't have wolf vision like you."

"Oh shit!" Chloe laughed, "That is right. Wait here while I go turn on the spotlights."

Max sat down to wait for Chloe to come back and little while later the spotlights came flickering on along casting strange shadows across the ground and revealing a family of raccoons among a stack of tires who were enjoying a feast of apple cores. She was about to take a picture when she heard someone walk up behind her. "Raccoons are so cute don't you think?"

"They carry rabies."

Max turned in shock when the voice that replied didn't belong to neither Chloe nor Rachel but instead belong to a very rough looking man in a nasty leather jacket who was now just inches from her face. "Who are you?"

"Chloe didn't mention me? How disappointing." The man laughed and snatched Max's camera. "I am Frank and I happen to be looking for Chloe. Do you know where she is? I can't smell her around here but I can smell her on you."

Max backed up to the stack of cars and swallowed the fear building inside her. She grabbed the first thing her hand landed on and smashed the beer bottle across Frank's face before trying to run only to have him grab her. He slammed her into the mud and shoved her down with his boot.

"I could kill you right now." Frank pressed down on Max's chest hard enough to make her gasp for air, "I can crush your rib cage with no trouble at all and I will if you don't tell me where Chloe is right now."

As Frank focused on Max Rachel descended from above in a flurry of beaks and feathers to knock him away before transforming back and slashing her left hand across his face leaving four deep gashes. She then grabbed Max and carried her up to the stack of cars as she yelled, "You aren't welcome here!"

"You fucking bitch!" Frank yelled as his face healed, "You are supposed to be dead!"

"I was just taking a sabbatical." Rachel watched Chloe as she came up behind Frank and laughed when she pressed her revolver against his head, "It's two against one. Leave now or else."

"This isn't over." Frank growled at Chloe, "The Clan will not let anyone stand against them. Their will will not be denied."

Chloe watched Frank leave before looking up at Rachel and said, "Is Max..."

"I am bruised, but alive." Max replied as she sat up, "Is this what being hit by a car feels like?"

"Not even close." Rachel lifted Max up and carried her down from the stack and said, "She hit Frank with a bottle. A mortal woman versus a berserker."

"A berserker?" Max picked up her camera from where Frank had dropped it and smiled when she saw it wasn't broken, "I thought he was a werewolf."

"Berserker is the Norse term for a werebear." Chloe looked Max over and said, "You hit Frank with a bottle even though you thought he was a werewolf?"

"It sounds crazy when you say it out loud." Max shook her head, "So what is the Clan?"

"A secret society of people like Chloe and Frank." Rachel crossed her arms, "They send out acolytes to forcefully turn people and then make them join or else they will kill them."

Max looked at Chloe and said, "And you are fighting them?"

"Not really." Chloe leaned on a half-buried truck, "I normally ignore them unless they try to force me to join. It has been months since their last attempt so I think Frank might just be acting on old grudges."

Max hugged Chloe and ignored the pain surging through her chest, "I will help you however I can."

"Still not afraid?"

"Terrified actually." Max pulled away, "But you make me feel strong."

"I think tonight is finished. Let's head back to Blackwell." Chloe nodded, "I will teach you how to shoot another day."

"I'll meet you there."

Max watched Rachel transform back into a flock of crows and said, "That is still awesome."

Chloe laughed and lifted Max up into her arms, "Don't go falling in love with her. She will just break your heart."

"I don't need her because I have you." Max winced again as pain surged through her chest again, "You are the chocolate to my marshmallow."

"The butter to my popcorn."

"My partner in crime." Max tried to laugh but couldn't, "I think there is something wrong with my chest."

"We will have Rachel take a look back in your room." Chloe put Max down next to the truck and unloaded the revolver before slipping it into the glovebox. "She has more medical knowledge than any human doctor."

"Why?"

"Well she hangs out at colleges. According to her she has been hanging around Blackwell for ten years and before that the University of California." Chloe climbed into the passenger side of the truck and slid over to the driver's side, "According to her no one ever notices anything on weird going on at a college. Student never sleeps? Studying too hard. Student sleeps for three days straight? Partying too hard. Student disappears for a month and then mysteriously returns? Joined a cult or partied way too hard."

"That is really smart." Max nodded, "I wonder how other vampires who are too old to pass for a college student hide in plain sight."

"Doctors, nurses, security guards, truckers, park rangers, and Walmart employees are the most common according to Rachel." Chloe laughed, "But as I said earlier she does lie a lot."

"No, I think all of those make a terrifying amount of sense."

Chloe turned the radio on and shook her head when the channel had a guy yelling religious propaganda on it, "Let's add late night radio host to that list."

"Those are ghosts." Max turned the dial to the folk rock channel, "Voices on recordings played over and over again for decades. Like the laugh track used on sitcoms or the Wilhelm scream they belong to people who have long passed from this world."

"Well that was something." Chloe shook her head, "Never heard you go so dark before Max."

"Sorry." Max sighed, "It won't happen again."

"Don't apologize." Chloe reached over and took ahold of Max's hand, "Are you serious about that laugh track thing?"

"Yeah." Max nodded, "Look it up. It is actually kind of interesting. Hollywood is full of ghosts like that. I learned about it because I am a bit of a Wikipedia addict. It helps when I can't sleep."

Chloe nodded and said, "I will have to give that a try."


	4. Chapter 4

Kate woke up in the middle of the night with the odd feeling of being watched. She picked up her phone and used its light to look around the room but all was as it was when she had fallen asleep. Alice was in her cage sleeping and Victoria was on the couch. Her blanket had fallen to the floor revealing the nearly translucent lacy pajamas she was sleeping in.

Kate tore her eyes away from Victoria and sat up in bed as she said, "Vic."

"Huh?" Victoria propped herself up and looked at Kate, "What is it?"

"I think there is something in here with us." Kate slid her feet off the bed and froze when she felt something slither over them and under the bed, "Please tell me that I am just imagining things."

"It is a shade." Victoria stood and moved over to Kate's bed. She reached under and whispered something before pulling out an oozing black mass with an uncountable number eyes. "They feed on negative emotions and can cause feelings of anxiety and loneliness in humans. Normally they are invisible to humans but since we are bound your perception of reality has changed."

"So it has always been here?"

"This place is actually infested." Victoria smiled when Kate pet the shade, "Colleges are like all you can eat buffets for them."

"It is kind of cute." Kate backed up as the shade squealed and shot across the room. “So positive emotion hurts it."

"I thought that would be obvious." Victoria laughed, "The world is full of even more things even strange than a shade so you might want to prepare yourself for that possibility."

"It is going to be a while before I can sleep again." Kate smiled, "Do you mind if I draw? I will keep the light on the desk low."

"I don't mind at all." Victoria laid back down on the couch, "Tomorrow Taylor and Courtney should be done rearranging my room so that my bed is against your bedroom wall."

"I don't mind you sleeping on my couch." Kate picked the blanket up and covered up Victoria, "I suppose it will be just as nice having you on the other side of the wall but if you ever want to come over my door will always be open. Whether it is too talk or just to sit in silence while you write and I draw, because..."

Kate stopped talking when she realized that Victoria had fallen asleep and took a deep breath. She looked at her desk and decided that before drawing anything she needed to talk to Max. It was late but she knew that Max was a night owl and would still be up so she started across the hall. She was just able to make it to the door before she felt that familiar tug that said she was getting to far from Victoria and could almost imagine silk threads tied to her wrist as she knocked on the door and backed up a couple steps as she waited for someone to answer.

Chloe answered the door instead of Max, and said, "And what brings you to our door at this time of the night?"

"Sorry I didn't mean to disturb you and Max..."

Chloe opened the door wider to show that Max was sitting on the floor cocooned in a blanket while watching Metropolis with another girl who was strangely familiar and said, "We borrowed a projector and screen from Brooke to have a silent movie night. Want to join?"

"It looks like fun but no." Kate shook her head, "I just want to talk to Max."

"Max." Chloe looked into the room, "Kate wants to talk to you."

Max stood with the blanket still wrapped around her and walked over to the door, "What's up Kate?"

"I wanted to know if you had any plans tomorrow."

"Well we are going to the Two Whales for breakfast and after that we are going to drive up the coast to the state park so that Chloe can run around and burn off some excess energy."

"Do you mind if I meet you at the Two Whales?" Kate pressed a hand to her chest, "We haven't had much time to hang out together lately and I miss it."

"Yeah we have both been busy." Max looked back at Chloe and Rachel who were starting to throw popcorn at each other and said, "I should go break that up. Goodnight."

"I will see you in the morning." Kate laughed when she got hit with a marshmallow and caught it before it could hit the floor, "You should try to get some sleep."

"Sleep is for the weak." Max took the marshmallow, "I function better without it."

"Well try to get some for me."

Kate walked back to her door and waved at Max as she shut the door. She sat down at her desk and opened her drawing pad to a half finished scene featuring the demon queen protecting her witch servants from a dragon. She normally wouldn't have agreed with Max's ideas about sleep, but tonight she knew that sleep wasn't for her.

\------

Max looked over at the counter where Victoria was still trying to explain to Joyce what she wanted to order and then to Kate who was fidgeting nervously. "This was supposed to be a double date and I ruined it by bringing along Rachel didn't I."

"No you didn't ruin anything." Kate shook her head, "Honestly, I am not sure anymore of what my and Victoria are. We have some pretty intense moments like the one you walked in on in the showers."

Chloe immediately perked up and stopped playing with her phone, "Kate you were getting frisky with Victoria in the public showers?"

"Nothing that serious." Kate smiled, "It is just that we are alone I have a hard time controlling myself. I have never felt anything this intensely and I don't know if she feels the same or if she is just acting."

"She feels the same." Chloe smiled, "But you will have to be the one who makes the first move. The next time you feel like kissing her just go for it."

"Just go for it?"

Chloe looked at Max and nodded, "That is what I said. Just go for it."

Max grabbed Chloe by the collar of her coat and pulled her into an intense kiss that only stopped when Rachel started to whistle. "I should have done that sooner."

Chloe just stared at Max with stunned silence after the kiss and after a tense few seconds said, "Damn, Max."

"What you said just go for it." Max smiled and looked at Kate, "It really is good advice."

Rachel leaned in between Max and Chloe and said, "This cute and all but are you sure that you want to date Victoria? She is a literal devil. Under that cute smile, two hundred dollar manicure, and expertly fitted clothing is an absolute monster."

"She is not as bad as she seems." Kate shook her head, "Yes she did use to bully me but that does not make her evil. She just has some identity issues she can't deal with."

Victoria sat down back Kate and said, "Were you all talking about me?"

Max smiled and said, "We are just discussing the fact that you and Kate are dating. It is kind of shocking."

"We were worried that no one would believe it." Victoria took hold of Kate's hand, "She showed me compassion in a situation that if our roles were reversed I would haven't showed her. It shook me up and as we got to really know each other over the last few days one thing led to another. I still have a lot of mistakes to apologize for but we are getting there."

Max nodded and said, "So did you get your order?"

"They refused to even try to make Eggs Benedict so I went with a simple ham and Swiss omelet." Victoria looked at Chloe, "And before you ask I am planning on leaving a large tip for your mom being so patient with me."

Kate laughed and said, "See she isn't that bad for a devil."

"What you told them?" Victoria looked at Kate and took her hand, "How could you?"

"She even makes jokes." Kate laughed softly, "I bet you never thought you would hear Victoria do that."

Victoria nodded and looked at Max, "Since I am a devil how about you trade your soul for a photography career? By this time next week your name could be known to every gallery on the west coast and you could have offers pouring in from hundreds of travel magazines."

"Thanks but no thanks." Max laughed, "I am going to be famous one day but it will be due to hard work and my own talent."

"I knew you would say that." Victoria smiled, "And before I forget I am sorry for mocking your photos, your clothes, your hair, your shyness, and for stealing the cookies from your room."

"I told you it wasn't me." Chloe laughed, "I only stole your jerky and your chips."

"I am going to need a lock box for all my snacks." Max shook her head, "There are too many hungry mice at the dorms."

Rachel moved over to their booth and made Chloe slide over until she was practically sitting on Max's lap and a moment later Joyce brought them their food. Rachel toyed with hers for a moment before making an excuse and giving the plate to Chloe. She stayed at the table just to pester Victoria and when they were all done Max tried to get Kate and Victoria to come with them to the state park but Kate had other plans so they went their separate ways.

As they drove down the coast Rachel started to apply another coat of her sunscreen and Max said, "So does that actually help you withstand sunlight?"

"Sunlight is more of an allergy than a death sentence so yes this sunscreen does help along with the special herbs and oils I mixed into it." Rachel put the bottle back into the glove box, "So you two do know that I wasn't joking about Victoria right?"

"What do you mean?"

"She is a literal devil." Rachel smiled, "Her heartbeat is an echo. Her appearance an illusion. She has been at the school almost as long as I have, maybe even longer I don't know and like me she hasn't aged a day. She is the queen of the Vortex because the Vortex is a coven."

"Seriously?" Max adjusted how she was sitting, "Are you sure she isn't like you?"

"Chloe should at least smell the sulfur on her."

"All I ever smell is her perfume." Chloe grimaced, "That stuff is so potent it gives me a headache. I am still smelling it."

"Well I trust Kate and she says Victoria is better than we believe she is." Max smiled, "If anyone can change the devil it is her."

Chloe nodded and turned the radio on to the classic rock station. She smiled as Under Pressure started to play and soon she was singing along with the greatest hits of Queen with Max and Rachel providing the backup vocals.


	5. Chapter 5

Kate took hold of Victoria's hand as they walked back up the ramp leading from the parking lot and started to think seriously about what Chloe had said at the diner. She looked at Victoria who was looking just as lost in thought as she was. She stopped walking in front of the fountain and said, "Victoria."

Victoria didn't seem to hear her at first and kept walking until she felt Kate tug on her arm, "Kate?"

"Victoria, I..." Kate took a deep breath and went for it. She pulled Victoria close and wrapped her arms around her waist as they kissed. She broke off a few seconds later and said, "I know that what I felt...what we felt when you...I am ruining this. Listen I think we have something real going on between us that is more than just demonic seduction or..."

Victoria kissed Kate again and said, "I wasn't asleep last night. I wanted to reply but I was afraid. I didn't think it was possible for me to feel anything anymore, but you are helping me remember what it was like to be human."

Kate pulled Victoria into another kiss, but this one was halted by a soft and very familiar voice saying, "What are you doing to that girl?"

Kate looked to her youngest sister Lynn and fidgeted as she said, "Lynn, this is Victoria. We are dating...uhm...what are you doing here?"

"Mom is waiting across the street. She sent me in to find you." Lynn smiled, "We came by earlier but you were gone."

"But why are you here?"

"Today is Auntie Beatrice's birthday. You are supposed to play your violin for her."

Kate winced as she remembered and nodded, "Go tell mom I will be right there, and don't tell her what I was doing. She can find out from me later."

"You are acting strange."

"That is just what college does to you." Kate laughed, "You will find out one day."

Kate took Victoria's hand as Lynn ran off and went back to the dorm as fast as they could. She pulled her violin out from under the bed and packed her bag with three extra sketchpads and a gaudy pencil case with a pearl rabbit on the front and her name engraved on the spine into her bag. She thought for a moment and said, "Anything you need Victoria?"

"My purse is already fully loaded with all the essentials." Victoria smiled, "Make-up, spare jewelry, miniature book of magical incantations and demonic rituals, hidden compartment full of ingredients for crafting potions, and a gun."

"Your jokes are getting better." Kate laughed, "My Aunt's house is going to be full of religious iconography. She has five crosses in every room, a massive portrait of Jesus in the parlor, and she always wears this ugly rosary that she got in Rome that is made of silver and jade beads with a gold and platinum cross hanging from it.

"Her faith has become a source of pride for her." Victoria smiled, "She has become a sinner because of she believes she is a better Christian than others. It is one of my favorite pitfalls. I will be fine."

Kate tried to stifle her laugh but failed, "You should see her during the holidays. She will give a dollar to the Salvation Army but when she sees someone who is in actual need of her help she tells them that God provides to those that help themselves. I knew it was wrong to paraphrase the Bible to justify your greed but I didn't realize that she had already fallen."

"This is going be like stepping into an evangelic church." Victoria shook her head, "Stop me if I start to get a little too giddy. Sin is a like a drug and rich American Christians are like dope dealers."

"God is speaking to me." Kate held up her arms, "He says that if you send me twenty dollars right now all of your prayers will be answered. Hallelujah and Amen."

"Kate." Victoria smiled, "I am liking this side of you."

"I won't apologize." Kate grabbed her Bible and slipped it into her bag before leaving the room, "I have some strong opinions on this topic. You might even see me get into a shouting match tonight with my Aunt over the proper interpretation of the Old Testament and the Books of Law."

"This might be rude but why are we going if this is going to end up a disaster?" Victoria took hold of Kate's hand, "What is the point of it all?"

"Well it is partly because I want to be a buffer between her and my sisters, Lynn and Anna." Kate shook her head, "She likes to assault with her antiquated ideas and I can't let that happen."

"And what is the other reason?"

"To make it easier on my dad." Kate chewed on her lip, "You see my mom and dad got a divorce last year but my aunt refuses to acknowledge it. To her the line 'til death do us part is meant to be taken literal and that divorce is a sin."

"They put up this for money don't they?" Victoria shook her head, "So am I just a friend or are we going to add to this chaos?"

"We will tell my dad, but not my mom or my Aunt unless the night is already gone down in flames."

"And we absolutely don't mention the other thing."

"Absolutely not." Kate laughed, "Unless of course my Aunt deserves it."

They walked slowly to the waiting car and got into the back seat. Eleanor looked at her daughter with narrowed eyes and said, "This is a family gathering. Your friend was not invited."

"I invited her." Kate smiled, "She has become like family to me."

"My name is Victoria." Victoria held out her hand for Eleanor to shake it, "I was a bit of a bully to your daughter but she saw past all that and helped me remember what it was like to be human."

Eleanor’s gaze softened, "Drugs or alcohol?"

"Both." Victoria took Kate's hand, "Kate is a saint to want to try and help me. I gave her no reason to trust me and I tried to get her to cut me loose, but she refused to let me die."

"Kate," Eleanor smiled, "I am proud of you, and Victoria, you are welcome to join us."

"Thank you." Victoria looked at Kate, "It will be nice to be a part of a family again."

\-------

Max climbed up onto the hood of the truck and fell back exhausted. She never thought she would end up playing fetch with her girlfriend but here she was playing fetch with her girlfriend. Her girlfriend and her best friend. She started to smile and said, "She is my girlfriend."

Rachel threw the softball across the field and sat down next to Max, "Feeling giddy?"

"She is my girlfriend." Max sat up, "I never thought that would be something I could say about anyone let alone about Chloe."

"And it feels good doesn’t it." Rachel smiled and took the ball from Chloe, "I think we have done this enough."

Chloe turned back with a big goofy grin on her face and said, "Did I get carried away?"

"Four hours." Max laughed, "It was fun, but we have been throwing this ball for four hours."

Chloe pulled Max into a kiss and said, "You must be hungry. You get grumpy when you are hungry."

"I do not!" Max crossed her arms and laughed a little when her stomach growled, "I am not grumpy but I may be a little hungry."

Chloe nodded and walked around to the back of the truck. She lowered the tailgate and pulled out a folding grill before pulling out two coolers. The first had steaks in it and the second had soft drinks and glass bottles of blood. "It will be a while before the meat is properly marinated and the grill is hot enough."

Max pulled a ginger ale out of the ice and said, "I will go take some photos then. Just howl when the food is ready."

"Don't go past the stream." Chloe kissed Max on the forehead, "That is where the old growth begins and you don't want to go in there."

"Why?"

"It is an ancient place." Rachel cut in, "Untouched for hundreds of years. The Native Nations in this area didn't go there, the colonizers didn't go there, and we aren't going there. Stay on this side of the stream."

"Okay, I will obey thy commands." Max shook her head, "I will stay away from the magic woods."

Max walked into the trees and was immediately taken aback by the beauty of it all. She lost all sense of time and distance as she carved her own path through the bushes and over the rocks and only stopped exploring when she came to the stream and saw a pure white doe drinking from it.

She became so mesmerized by the sight that she didn't notice the person walking up on her until they had their hand over her mouth and the rag pressed tightly against her nose. She started to feel dizzy but was still able to break free and ran across the stream only to have the person chase her and knock her to the ground. They press her face into the water and she thought that she was going to die but then something grabbed her attacker. She tried to stand as a sickening crunch echoed through the trees and her attacker, a tattooed white guy with dreadlock, landed beside her like a broken marionette.

She felt herself be lifted up by massive hands and drifted in and out of consciousness as she was carried deeper into the old growth. When they reached a place of carved stones with a small hut in the center her savior laid her down on a bed of moss and said in deep, gravelly voice, "Rest now little human. The beast has been broken and you are safe."

Max looked up at her rescuer and gasped was not entirely a human or a beast, but something that she had thought was the creation of idle minds and tabloids. He was covered in thick shaggy hair that had moss growing on its knotted tangles along with ferns and mushrooms growing along his broad shoulders. Even kneeling he towered over her at almost eight feet tall and what little of his face she could see beneath the hair and beard reminded her of a picture of a Neanderthal she once saw in a National Geographic.

"What are you?"

"Quiet, it is not yet time for words."

Her rescuer pulled three mushrooms off his left shoulder and dropped it into the pot simmering over the fire. He added a few more indescribable ingredients from little clay jars and scooped the broth into a small clay bowl.

"Breathe deeply of this and you will feel better."

Max took the bowl and let the steam waif over her and sure enough her head stopped pounding and she was able to sit up without almost blacking out, "What is your name?"

"Don't rightly have one, but another human called me Old John."

"Thank you for saving me, John." Max sat the broth aside, "I am sorry for crossing the stream."

I was there 'cause the lady of the moon told me to be there." John picked up the broth and drank it, "Don't know why that other human wanted to hurt you, but they ain't a threat no more. The woods will take them and they will feed the saplings now."

"The lady of the moon?"

"She has names like I have fingers and toes." John smiled warmly, "Ask your chosen what they call her when the moon calls to them. That will be the name she wants you to call her."

Max nodded and said, "You know about Chloe?"

"Child of the Moon, named by William, birthed by Joyce. A seeker of self-destruction who was shown a new path by the lady of the moon and by you, her chosen." John moved closer to Max and knelt back down before cupping her right hand between his two hands, "I have a gift to give, but it will hurt."

Max nodded and tried not to scream as her hand started to burn. She grabbed John's arm with her free hand and shut her eyes to force back tears. Thankfully the pain paid faded as quickly as it came and when John released her hand she found it had been tattooed with a beautiful blue butterfly.

"It’s lovely."

"It is powerful old magic." John blew on it and it glowed with a faint blue light, "A gift from me and the Lady of the Moon."

"What does it do?"

"That is for you to discover." John stood and looked to the trees, "It is time to go back. Your friends are searching for you."

Max used John's arm to pull herself up and stayed close to him as they walked out of the old growth. She ran across the stream to Chloe and Rachel and hugged Chloe as tightly as she could before saying, "I am so sorry for worrying you. How long have I been gone?"

"Two hours." Chloe hugged Max back, "Where were you?"

"Well it felt like just minutes to me so I so sorry." Max looked back but John was already gone. He had vanished into the old growth, "I was with a Sasquatch...or I think that he was a Sasquatch. He seemed ancient and called himself Old John."

"I saw you come out of the trees but you were alone." Chloe looked over at the old growth, "I told you not to cross the stream."

"I didn't just go in." Max looked back hoping to see the body of the man who had attacked her but all she saw was a fresh mound of moss and mushrooms, but then she remembered the gift and held out her hand, "I was attacked by this man and he saved me. He gave me this. He said it was a gift from him and the Lady of the Moon."

Chloe took Max's hand into hers and rubbed her thumb across the tattoo, "You aren't lying are you. Who is the Lady of the Moon?"

"He said that the name we should use is the one that you use." Max shook her head, "What do you call the moon on those nights when the voice calls out to you?"

"Artemis." Chloe looked at the tattoo again, "She was the sister to Apollo and as such was considered to be the embodiment of the moon as well as the goddess of the hunt. I have done a lot of research on this since the attack that made me into a werewolf."

"Anything about a blue butterfly in that?"

"Not a bit." Chloe shook her head, "I have the steaks wrapped up in aluminum foil back at camp. They should still be warm so let's go eat before we do anything more."

Max looked at the tattoo once and nodded, "Food sounds good."

Rachel looked back at the old growth and smelled the air before saying, "And thank you Old John for bringing our Max back to us."

Max looked to the old growth and said, "Did you see him?"

"No, but I sense that he is there." Rachel stepped between Chloe and Max and wrapped her arms around them, "We should go though. This place is not for us."


	6. Chapter 6

Max snuggled closer to Chloe and looked out at the setting sun as she said, "Why has Artemis taken an interest in us?"

"I wish I knew." Chloe pulled a blanket over them and leaned over Max to kiss her on the forehead, "That is a sweet magic tat though."

Max nodded and rubbed the tattoo gently before sitting up in a flash, "My camera! I dropped it when that guy attacked me!"

"About that..." Chloe sighed, "We were hoping to break this to you as we gave you a new one but your camera is ruined. We found it in mud when we were looking for you."

"Where is it?"

Chloe sighed and opened her toolbox. She pulled out the mud encrusted camera and gave it to Max, "I think my dad's camera was like that one. We will have to dig through his stuff in the garage to find it but it is yours."

Max looked over the camera and cleaned it off so she could get a better look at the damage and sighed when she saw the lens was cracked, "I have had this camera for years. I..."

Max and Chloe gasped as the tattoo started to glow along with the camera and as the light faded she found the camera was not only repaired but almost factory fresh. She looked it over and rubbed her thumb against the spot that once got melted by her sitting it on a hot coal.

Chloe took the camera and said, "How did you?"

"I don't know." Max looked at the tattoo and sighed, "Old John could have at least given me a little bit of a hint."

"A cryptid being cryptic." Chloe laughed, "Well at least you have an idea of what that tattoo can do now. It affects time. You wished for your camera to be restored and it was."

Max held out her hand and concentrated. She could feel the air shifting around her as her hand started to glow and closed her fist to make it stop just in time to hear Chloe laugh.

"Well at least you have an idea of what that tattoo can do now. It affects time. You..."

"It does more than just restore objects." Max stood up, "I just went back in time a few seconds."

"You did what?" Chloe stood up with Max, "Max, that sounds hella dangerous."

Max took a deep breath and nodded, "You are right, but we need to know what it can do."

"Tomorrow we will go back to the junkyard and we can try to figure this out." Chloe's pulled Max close kissed her before saying, "Promise me that you won't use it before then."

"Cross my heart and hope to die." Max slid her finger across her chest twice, "I will not use this power until we learn more about it."

Rachel descended and landed on the top of the truck's cab like a gargoyle. She was very tense and kept staring up at the sky as she said, "I had to come back. A storm of demonic energy is causing some severe disturbances to the south. My poor bird senses couldn't handle it."

Chloe wrapped her arm around Max's waist, "Will it reach here?"

"No, I don't think so." Rachel climbed down, "It is already starting to fade. I was afraid I was going to disturb you but seeing as you both still have your clothes on I guess getting frisky was put on hold?"

Max smiled and said, "I figured out what the tattoo does. I can manipulate time."

"Funny," Rachel laughed, "But there is no magic that would allow you to do that."

"You will see tomorrow at the junkyard."

Max sat down on the tailgate hoping to seem cool but it popped open and she fell to the ground. Chloe hopped down obviously trying not to laugh and said, "Are you okay?"

Max stood and brushed the dirt off her jacket, "Just a few new bruises to add to the ones I already have."

Chloe helped brush the dirt off of Max's back and said, "Should we go back to the dorm or should we stay?"

"You are asking me?" Max looked at Rachel, "What do you want to do?"

"I say stay." Rachel hopped back up to the top of the cab and laid down, "I love to look at the night sky."

"That is one vote to stay and I agree with her." Max climbed back into the back of the truck and gathered up the blanket before laying down and covered up Chloe as she laid down beside her, "We have no school tomorrow or the next day so this can be our weekend."

Chloe pulled Max close and said, "I love that idea."

\------

Kate honestly hated her Aunt's house when she was younger and it still gave her chills even now. It was an old Victorian style mansion that was built by her mother's family when they first moved west during the Great Depression, and it hadn't changed much since then except for the addition of a greenhouse and four car garage.

She entered the main hall after everyone and froze when she saw a tiny three foot tall figure sitting on the mantle of the fire place that almost looked like her Aunt. It vanished up the chimney when it realized she was watching it and she walked over to Victoria as she said, "In this story that I am writing there is tiny miniature people that look like other people what would you call them?"

"Clever." Victoria smiled, "And I would call them goblins. They are greedy little creatures that will still coins out of your pockets if you can't see them. They only start to take on the appearance of a person if they have been living with them for decades and only if that person has started to perform magical rituals to maintain their wealth."

"You mean my Aunt may have sold her..."

"Yes that is a great story idea." Victoria held a finger to her lips and grabbed at something invisible in the air. She opened her balm to reveal an eye that quickly evaporated, "She knows we know. This birthday party has just gotten even more interesting."

"Does she know that you are?"

"My charms will hide my true form from her." Victoria looked around, "She may just think I am an equally powerful witch at the moment."

Kate nodded and joined the rest of her family in the dining hall and tried not to pay attention the eyes of the family portraits and the goblins sitting among the cabinets and shelves as she sat down at the far end of the table with her sisters Lynn and Anna. She helped them make up their plates and said, "So how is school?"

"Boring." Lynn gave her broccoli to Anna, "The only fun class is history."

"So what is going on between you and Victoria?" Anna smiled, "Lynn told me she caught you kissing."

"Shush." Kate laughed, "Don't tell anyone else about that, especially not mom."

"Because she will freak about you being gay?" Anna put the broccoli back on Lynn's plate, "Why is that such a big deal? I would love for her to send me to live with dad and never talk to me again."

"Anna don't talk like that." Kate sighed, "Family is too important to give up on."

"Then why is there an old saying the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb?" Anna cut up Lynn's chicken breast and put the bones on a separate saucer, "Family can be anyone you share a bond with."

Victoria sat down after circling the room a couple times and said, "Well you Aunt certainly loves her Scandinavian antiques doesn't she."

"Does any of them seem interesting?" Kate smiled, "Like they might have stories attached to them?"

"Not that I can tell." Victoria looked at Lynn and Anna, "And you must be the sisters I have heard so much about. Lynn, the piano prodigy, and Anna, the great debater. I take it you know about me and Kate?"

"Weren't you the one who was bullying her?" Anna crossed her arms, "If you hurt my sister I will make you regret it."

"Anna stop threatening Victoria." Kate shook her head, "Victoria was just acting out to fit in a role she didn't want, and now...well she is just different. Anyone can change."

"She is here." Victoria looked at the spiral staircase as Beatrice came down and took Kate's hand, "Can you feel that?"

Kate shivered as a chill wind rushed through her and said, "It is like all the warmth has fled the room."

"This will be fun." Victoria turned in her chair toward Beatrice and held out her hand as she said, "I am Victoria, and I am very pleased to be here."

"You came with Kate?" Beatrice looked at Kate with a questioning gaze, "She must be someone special if she has a friend like you."

"You know Kate." Victoria smiled, "There is no one in this world as special as her."

"Yes of course." Beatrice shook Victoria's hand, "Of that there is no doubt."

Kate watched Beatrice take her seat at the head of the table and whispered, "What was that about?"

"She was trying to figure out what I am." Victoria whispered back and looked to Eleanor, "And keep an eye on your mother."

"Why?"

"Tonight is not just about a birthday." Victoria looked down at her plate, "We will talk more in private."

Kate nodded and bowed her head as her dad started to pray and said, "Bless this food, and bless my sisters. Amen."


	7. Chapter 7

After dinner Kate and Victoria slipped away from everyone and found a place they thought they wouldn't be disturbed to talk. Kate paced while Victoria set up protective charms and finally said, "What is actually going on here?"

"Your bloodline has natural magic." Victoria shook her head, "I can't believe I didn't realize it, or wasn't told by the Lords of the Lower Hells, but now I know why they are so determined to get you. A person like you if they haven't fallen to temptation like your mother or your aunt can change the world and your family is one of the strongest I have ever encountered. Your Aunt is slowly becoming a Lord of Hell herself and tonight she has something planned that involves your mother."

Kate shook her head and said, "You could have broken that to me a little softer."

"Sorry, but this is serious." Victoria crossed her arms, "We have to find the ritual chamber. We might be able to either find your aunt's heart there or find a clue to where she has hidden it."

"Her heart?"

"She has removed it in order to protect herself from harm. At the moment she is immortal but if we destroy her heart then she will die."

"You want me to kill my aunt?" Kate shook her head and backed up, "I can't do that."

"Your aunt is already dead by all definitions. That thing we saw just has only her face and even that is an illusion." Victoria grabbed a goblin that was trying to sneak into the room. She squeezed it tightly in her hand causing it to squeal and its form shifted into a miniature Victoria, "She sent you to spy on me but now you work for me. Take us to the place she hid her heart."

Kate hugged herself as Victoria left and ran after forcing her feet to move. The goblin led them up into the attic and toward the the far wall to what looked like a section of chimney. Victoria reached down and pat the goblin on the head as she said, "Are you ready?"

"No." Kate swallowed and helped Victoria pull the false chimney away from the wall reveal a hidden chapel on the other side, "But I have to do this to keep my family safe."

"The Lords are going to hate me for this." Victoria waved her hand to light all of the candles around the room and stepped up to the altar, a once beautiful cherrywood table now crusted with dried blood and candle wax. "A demon destroying a warlock for her angel."

"A demon?" Beatrice appeared in a flurry of snow and shot a blast of ice from her palm that froze Victoria to the opposite wall. "Kate, my dear niece, I am so very proud of you. I was just a little older than you when I made my own demon deal. Eleanor will be here soon so make your choice. Will you stand alone or will you stand with family?"

Kate thought back to dinner and pressed her hand to her heart as she said, "Victoria is more like family to me that you are and I will never stand alone as long as I have her and God on my side."

"Shame." Beatrice raised her hand toward Kate, "Eleanor is going to hate me for this, but she can be made to forget in necessary."

Victoria let out a scream that shook the walls and broke free of the ice binding her. She shot across the room and stopped the blast of ice with a ball of blue flame as she yelled, "No one will harm Kate as long as I still draw breath."

"Then go back to Hell where you belong!" Beatrice grabbed herself as her skin turned a deathly blue and her clothes transformed into writhing mass of rats, "You are a pitiful mistress of the underhanded deal and are nothing but a tiny gnat to me!"

Kate ran for cover but stopped when she saw the goblin Victoria trying to get into a glass box. She dodged a blast of ice from Beatrice and ran over as Victoria started to tear apart the house with her flames. She opened the box and and swallowed when she saw the still beating heart inside. She took the dagger that the goblin Victoria was trying to drag across the table and raised it up. Her hands her shaking and shut her eyes as she plunged the dagger downward into the heart so hard that it shattered the box and stuck hard into the table.

Beatrice cried out in pain and looked at Kate with absolute horror as ice started to erupt from her chest and tried to get to her but shattered by a blast of fire from Victoria causing the room to tremble.

"That was..." Kate picked up the goblin Victoria and fell into Victoria's arms as the ceiling and floor started to crack, "What is happening?"

"The deal is done." Victoria took Kate's hand and started to run as a beam fell from the ceiling, "Now all that she gained from it will fall into ruin."

Kate picked up her pace and almost fell down the stairs and they started to give out under her feet and was almost to the door when her mom grabbed her and yelled, "Where is Beatrice? What have you done?"

"Beatrice is gone." Kate pulled away, "We need to get out of here."

"You..." Eleanor backed up as electricity started to arc out of her fingertips, "You have ruined everything!"

"Mom..."

Victoria pulled Kate out of the way of as surge of electricity erupted out of Eleanor and said, "You have already sold your soul!"

"It was just holding me back." Eleanor skin started to burn and crack as more electricity started to arc through her, "Tonight was to be the night I gained my immortality and regained your father's devotion!"

Victoria shed her human form in order to raise a barrier of flame to protect Kate from a bolt of electricity and had to slam her hooves into the floor to keep from being pushed back, "You can't force someone to love you no matter how much power you gain."

Kate stood and yelled, "Look at what you are doing! You are trying to kill me. Is that what you really want mom?"

"Mom?"

Lynn came in from the parlor followed by Anna and Richard and Victoria had to raise another barrier to protect them and fell to her knees as she struggle to maintain them from the relentless barrage of electrical bolts.

Kate wrapped her arms around Victoria to help her stand back up and as they embraced the barriers started to glow with a golden light causing the electrical bolt to bounce back to Eleanor sending her flying through the wall with an ear piercing scream.

Kate kept hold of Victoria as they all made their way outside and when they were by the car her dad finally turned back to see what Victoria was and tried to tear Kate away from her as he yelled, "Get away from that thing!"

"She saved your life! She saved all of our lives." Kate looked at Victoria as she regained her human form, "Beatrice and mom...They were evil."

"I saw it." Anna looked at Victoria with eyes full of sorrow, "It was her barrier that saved us. Mom had become some kind of monster. She was trying to kill us."

Kate looked back at the mansion as an explosion ripped through it and it collapsed into a fiery inferno. She hugged Victoria tightly against her chest and looked to her dad as he started to pray. There was no more words to say, no explanations, and no tears as the police and fire departments arrived to try and control the fires slowly smoldering in the rubble.

\-----

Max took a shot of the the sun as it rose behind the fallen American Rust sign that had landed on a stack of old cars and then took a shot of Chloe standing on a car with an aluminum bat, and was about to walk over when her phone started to buzz as all the calls and text messages that couldn't get through before broke free. There were six missed calls from Kate along with nine text messages, and five missed calls from Victoria.

<Sorry Kate just got back to civilization. What is going on?>

<Its everything. It would be better to talk in person.>

<I will be right there. You are at the dorm right?>

<At my dad's house. Its behind Saint Andrew's Parish."

<I'll find it.>

Max put away her phone and yelled, "Change of plans. Kate needs some friends right now."

"Sounds like things didn't work out with Victoria." Chloe jogged over, "Should we pick up some comfort food on the way back to the dorm?"

"She is at her dad's house." Max looked around, "Where is Rachel?"

"I'll text her on the way. She can..."

Max froze as the sound of thunder echoed through the cars and she caught Chloe as she fell forward. Her hand felt something wet and warm oozing through Chloe's jacket and she carefully laid Chloe down on the ground as Rachel rushed from the junkyard.

"Rachel she has been shot." Max looked at the blood on her hands and started to cry, "What do we do?"

Rachel took a deep breath and said, "She is gone Max."

"She is not gone!" Max clenched her fist in anger and looked to the trees as Frank and a tattooed woman with a rifle came out, "You fuckers shot her!"

"I tried to warn her." Frank grinned, "Either you are with the Clan or you are not. We can't have our kind out wandering free."

Rachel charged at Frank but the woman shot her down as well. She hissed and tried to stand but couldn't, "What..."

"Sanctified silver." Frank sneered, "Had to be prepared for a parasite like you."

Max looked at Chloe and then to Rachel as a voice started screaming in her head. She raised her hand as the butterfly started to glow and created a pulse of blue energy that sent Frank and the tattooed woman flying backward. The energy kept arcing out of her hand and up her arm as she turned to Rachel and Chloe causing them to glow faintly before she finally forced her hand closed. Her shirt sleeve was charred and her skin was burned badly but Chloe was breathing again and Rachel was just sitting in the dirt look at where the wound on her chest had been.

Chloe stood and said, "What just happened?"

"Max?" Rachel ran over to Max and shook her head when she saw the burns, "What did you do?"

"I don't know." Max held back the scream inside her as the adrenaline faded and fell to the ground, "Oh fuck it hurts!"

"These are second degree burns." Rachel looked at Chloe who was staring at Frank, "CHLOE! We have to get her to the hospital."

Chloe nodded and walked over to where Frank had fallen and said, "He is...he looks like..."

Max looked over at the other pile of clothes when they heard a soft crying and said, "What did I do?"

Rachel helped Max back up to her feet and said, "Don't try to move."

Max ignored Rachel and staggered over to Chloe. She almost screamed when she saw the Frank's desiccated body but the shock of seeing it was overcome by the shock of Chloe picking up a baby from the clothes of the woman who had been holding the rifle.

"I did that?" Max looked at the baby as it shifted into a tiger cub and said, "What do we do?"

"We have to get you medical..."

"Rachel you can bandage my arm for me." Max shook her head, "We already have to much to worry about."

Chloe picked up the woman's shirt and wrapped the baby in it before pulling her wallet out of the pants, "Her name is is Svetlana. She was born in Alaska."

"We will take her with us." Max nodded, "Rachel can bandage my arm up on the way."

"On the way to where?" Chloe smiled at the baby and said, "She is hungry."

"We will feed her at Kate's." Max looked at Frank's body, "What do we do with.."

Rachel jumped back when Frank tried to move and said, "He's alive?"

Max rubbed her tattoo, "Do you think I could?"

Chloe looked at the burns and said, "Do you want to risk it?"

"I wasn't in control before." Max raised her hand and took a deep breath as her hand started to glow. She clenched her jaw as energy started to arc up her arm again and took hold of Rachel as Frank started to glow and quickly shut her fist before collapsing into Rachel's arms, "Is he?"

Frank sat up with a groan and looked around with bloodshot eyes. He was still old, but was no longer on the brink of death, and he started to panic when he saw his gnarled arthritic hands, "What have you done to me?"

"You are alive so be happy with that." Chloe stepped over him and gave Svetlana to Rachel, "Come on we need to stop wasting time."

They piled into the truck and Max cradled Svetlana in her good arm while Rachel went to work cleaning and bandaging up the burns. She looked at the baby as she shifted back and forth between her human and tiger forms and said, "What are we going to do with her?"

"Well I am not going to let you use your powers again." Chloe shook her head, "Frank was pushing it and who knows what would happen to you if you tried to restore a person who basically got their mind wiped."

"So what you want us to raise her?" Rachel finished wrapping Max's arm, "I am too young to deal having a child."

"Well we are the most qualified unless you want to try and return her to the Clan." Max adjusted how she was holding Svetlana, "She is kind of cute."

"She is hella cute." Chloe smirked, "So cute I have decided to forgive her for killing me. That was one hell of a weird experience. I can feel the memories prickling in the back of my mind but can't remember exactly what happened."

"Well I was just poisoned." Rachel shook her head, "Felt like acid pumping through my veins. How are you feeling Max?"

"Like I grabbed a live wire." Max looked at the bandages, "Time manipulation is awful. If I could have stopped for a moment to think I should have just rewinded to before you were shot."

"I don't think that would have worked in that situation." Chloe shook her head, "If you would have saved me they would have shot you instead and then shot me."

Rachel took Svetlana and started to play with her little fingers to make her laugh, "Still not magic. I have no clue what that tattoo is but I have a feeling it was never meant for mortals."

"Enjoying yourself?" Max laughed, "She is adorable isn't she?"

"For a day that has started off incredibly shi...poopy," Rachel smiled, "I think it will turn out all right in the end."

"So when we get to Kate's what do we tell her?" Max looked at Chloe, "It is going to be pretty hard to explain why we have a baby let alone one that keeps turning into a tiger cub."

"Or why your arm is bandaged up." Chloe sighed, "Should we just go for the full truth and nothing but the truth?"

"Well if Victoria is there she can help Kate come to terms with all this."

"We were under the impression something has happened between them." Max looked at Chloe, "Chloe's advice to just go for it might have backfired. Why else would Kate be at her dad's instead of at the dorms?"

"True..." Rachel nodded, "Well we will just have to hope that she can handle the truth. That this world is full of demons, vampires, and shapeshifters."

"But let's do this slowly." Max nodded, "We will start with shapeshifters since Chloe can show her that without no hassle, and then we will move on to vampires, and then maybe ask Kate if she knows that Victoria is a demon."

"You going to tell her that you were given the powers of a god by bigfoot?" Rachle laughed softly, "Fun weekend so far."

"So far." Max smiled, "Was it this crazy before I got involved or was it kind of normal except for...you know?"

"Kind of normal." Chloe shook her head, "Or as normal as it could have been. You are a trouble maker, Ms. Caulfield."

"Well I do what I can to impress you." Max laughed, "You made trouble for five years without me so I have to catch up."

"But not in a few days." Rachel laughed as well, "Slow it down a little. I mean what is next on your list? The apocalypse?"

"Don't jinx us." Max shook her head, "That might happen."


	8. Chapter 8

Max took Svetlana from Rachel as they climbed out of the truck and then handed her over to Chloe as they walked up the ramp to the front door. She was about to ring the doorbell when Kate opened the door. She looked like she had been crying and after a quick hug Max said, "I take it we all have a lot to discuss. Can Rachel and Chloe use your kitchen?"

Kate looked at Svetlana, ""Why do you have a baby?"

"That is part of the lot," Max rubbed her bandages, "Do you have some milk?"

"Use the goat milk." Kate nodded, "And remember to warm it up."

Chloe walked in but Rachel stopped at the threshold before saying, "You need to invite me in."

"You can go on in." Kate watched Rachel jog after Chloe and said, "Max, what is going on?"

"You first." Max walked in and took a seat on the couch with Kate, "Did you and Victoria break up?"

"No." Kate smiled softly, "She is talking to my dad right now in his office about her being a...Max this might be hard to believe but Victoria is a demon."

"You know?"

Kate froze and said, "You knew?"

"Rachel told me." Max fidgeted, "She is a vampire and Chloe is a werewolf. That baby is a weretiger and she was a fully grown woman just an hour ago but I lost control of my powers and turned her into a baby."

"My aunt and my mom were evil warlocks. I stabbed by aunt through the heart and Victoria killed my mom by turning her powers against her." Kate started to shake, "My mom tried to kill me."

"I got time powers last night from a Sasquatch named Old John. I think he was an elder god." Max hugged herself, "There is also something to do with the goddess Artemis and a clan of murderous shapeshifters. I am going to call them that because there are too many were-creatures to name."

"Victoria and I are never apart because we are bound together by the Lords of the Lower Hells." Kate shook her head, "Turns out not only am I a saint but I am born with natural magic in my blood. I can change the world according to Victoria so they want to corrupt me like they did to my mom and my aunt."

"Chloe was killed by a berserker named Frank." Max shook her head, "I raised her from the dead by turning back her clock...I think. I don't have any clue how my powers work yet. My arm is covered in burns that were caused by them. They were hurting but Rachel put this stinky salve on them and now my arm is numb."

"My sisters are asleep in the spare bedroom and are being watched over by a goblin that looks just like Victoria. I have named her Vic."

Max broke out into laughter and hugged Kate who was laughing a little herself, "At least we are still doing alright."

"Your arm?" Kate looked over the bandages, "Rachel is really good at first aid isn't she."

"She wanted me to go to the hospital but I refused." Max stood, "Want to go see the baby?"

"Does she look like a baby or a tiger?" Kate stood, "And what are you going to do with her?"

"Her appearance seems to be affected by her mood." Max smiled, "And we are planning on keeping her. I think that between me, Chloe, and Rachel we should be able to add up to one decent parent."

Kate walked down the hall but stopped at the doorway to the kitchen, "This is as far from Victoria as I can go, and I think you all will be lovely parents."

Max looked back at Kate and then to Chloe who was nursing Svetlana using water bottle full of milk, "Where is Rachel?"

"Out getting supplies." Chloe smiled and sat the water bottle aside, "Mostly diapers, and baby bottles I hope, but know her she will get carried away."

"Our dorm isn't that big."

"She knows." Chloe handed Svetlana to Max, "So what did you tell Kate?"

"Everything." Max walked over to Kate and said, "And Kate told me everything. She has had it worse than us."

"Did she die and get resurrected like Lazarus?" Chloe laughed softly, "Did Max tell you about that?"

"She did." Kate took Svetlana and said, "She is adorable. If you all ever need someone to babysit remember to call me first."

"Of course." Chloe walked over and grabbed Max from behind, "We don't want to freak out anyone with a baby that turns into a tiger cub every time she cries."

Max pulled out her phone and said, "Rachel is at the dorm. She wants to know how attached I am to my couch."

Chloe leaned over when Rachel sent a picture of her and Dana trying to build a crib, "Oh no she got others involved. How are we going to explain the baby to Dana?"

"She is Rachel's obviously." Max smiled, "That is why she disappeared for a few months."

Max quickly texted Rachel, <What are you doing?>

<Losing myself to motherhood.>

<Have you made up a cover story yet?>

<No. Why?>

<If Dana asks the baby is yours. That is why you disappeared for a few months.>

<That is a good one. If the question comes up I will use that.>

Max sent a bunch of happy emojis and said, "She is on board."

"Excellent." Chloe took back Svetlana, "Kate, call us if anything comes up."

"I will going back to the dorms soon." Kate smiled, "Taylor and Courtney are taking care of Alice for me, but she still needs her momma."

Max hugged Kate and said, "Call me if anymore issues come up with your mom. We are like sisters and you can tell me anything."

Kate hugged Max back, "I know."

\-------

Max smiled at the sight of Chloe sleeping in the chair beside the crib and used the blanket from her bed to cover her up before leaving the dorm. She needed to clear her mind of all the stress that had been building up inside her and the cool autumn air was just what she needed. She sat down at the base of the Tobanga and stared up at the moon as she said, "What do you want with us? Why can't you just tell me?"

"Max?"

Max froze and let out a sigh of relief when she saw it was just Taylor, "Why are you out here?"

"I am hoping that the night can fix my broken heart." Taylor sat down next to Max, "I am happy that Victoria is happy with Kate, but I wish it was me."

"Sorry, I don't know what to say." Max fidgeted, "So you sold your soul to Victoria. Why?"

"I was a total wallflower like you once. Shy, timid, and afraid to step out of my shell." Taylor sighed, "Then my mom got sick and the Queen of the Vortex came to me and asked what I would be willing to sacrifice to be able to save her."

"I get that." Max nodded, "If my mom or dad got sick I'd do the same."

"She didn't make my mom better." Taylor pulled out a book from her purse that should have been too large to fit in it and rubbed the leather cover gently, "She gave me this grimoire and taught me how to read it and how to call on the magic in the pages to heal my mom. That was my initiation into the Vortex."

"I was actually surprised to find out how kind Victoria actually is." Max smiled, "I always saw the Vortex as a bitch cult with Victoria as the queen bitch, but it wasn't was it."

"Some of us are better than others." Taylor laughed softly, "Take the king of the Vortex for instance. Nathan is a warlock like his father, and his grandfather, and so on. Courtney is obsessed with beauty. She has learned magic just to create special makeup to keep herself looking young."

"She should have found a vampire to bite her."

"Victoria calls her a china doll." Taylor shook her head, "In eighty or ninety years she will still look twenty one on the outside but her skin will be like porcelain and inside she will be hollow."

"You aren't going to be like that are you?"

"No, I am planning on living and dying as I was meant to." Taylor stood, "I might be terrified of what is waiting for me but I am still willing to face it."

Max stood and grabbed ahold of the Tobanga to steady herself causing it to glow along with the tattoo and she was engulfed in a blinding flash of light. It faded as quickly as it came but when it did it was no longer night and the air felt differently. She turned toward where the dorm should have been but there was nothing but a field of stumps.

Taylor looked at the Tobanga and then looked at Max, "What did you do?"

Max couldn't think of anything to say and touched the Tobanga again before starting to walk down the dirt path leading to where the school should have been, but it was barely anything more than a foundation.

Taylor came up and said, "Okay it is obvious we have gone back in time. The school opened in nineteen-ten but they started building it in eighteen-ninety so we are somewhere in between."

Max pointed to a guy planting trees that looked a little like Samuel and said, "Do you think?"

"At this point I am going to say anything is possible." Taylor started toward Samuel but stopped after a couple of steps, "Wait what if we break time talking to him?"

"As long as we don't run into ourselves we should be fine...I think." Max walked over to Samuel and said, "Can you help us?"

"Max?" Samuel dropped his shovel and pulled out his pocket watch, "No, this is no good, no good at all. You are far too early to be here."

"How are you here as well?" Max shook her head, "None of this makes any sense."

"No that doesn't matter, doesn't matter at all." Samuel smiled, "What matters is how you got here."

"I touched the Tobanga and my tattoo..."

Samuel clenched his jaw and shook his fist at the moon as he yelled at it in Norwegian and then looked to Max as she straightened his clothes, "If the Lady wants you here then I won't argue."

Max was taken aback by the shift in Samuel's demeanor and asked again, "Who are you?"

"Still Samuel," Samuel laughed, "Always will be Samuel but I do have other names you might know like Odin."

Taylor groaned and crossed her arms, "Why am I here? I am not apart of Max's nonsense. No offense Max, but I try to be as normal as I can be."

"No mistakes were made. If you are here then you are supposed to be here." Samuel smiled and shook her head, "Your clothes don't work here. Come with me to my home and I will find you something proper."

"Max are we really..."

"Yes." Max cut Taylor off, "We don't have much choice do we?"

"No." Taylor sighed, "I guess we don't."


	9. Chapter 9

** Chapter 9 **

****

Max watched Taylor finish fixing up her hair and kind of wished she had taken the day dress. It was a pretty powder blue and it hadn't been worn out like the suit she had been left with. She looked like she had just dragged herself out of the grave. The sleeves on the jacket were barely hanging on and the pants were covered in patches.

"If the jacket bothers you just get rid of it." Taylor smiled, "Has this kind of thing happened before? You seem way too calm."

"I prefer to let things roll off my back." Max removed the jacket and adjusted the faded gold vest underneath, "Or just bury them until I am ready to deal with them."

Taylor pulled Max's hair away from her face and tied it back with a ribbon before adjusting Max's bow tie, "Now you are looking good."

"Thanks." Max looked at herself in the mirror, "I wish Chloe could have been here to see this."

"With her hair and tats?" Taylor laughed, "That would have been a disaster."

"True." Max smiled, "But it could have been her chance to pass as a pirate."

Taylor nodded and turned back to the mirror, "Go talk with Samuel. I will be waiting here until you get back."

"Are you sure you don't want to come?"

"This is too much for me." Taylor smiled at her reflection and said, "It is nice to be able to see myself again. I guess coming back in time has undone my deal with Victoria."

"You had no reflection before?"

"No." Taylor shook her head, "Had to rely on either Victoria or Courtney to do my makeup. It became a part of our morning routine."

"That actually sounds like fun."

"Well if you ever want help with make up just ask me."

"I might do that." Max nodded, "Give Chloe a nice surprise."

"One last question before you go." Taylor stopped messing with her hair and turned toward Max, "Are you sure it is just Chloe that you will surprise? I think you and Rachel might have something going as well. You, Chloe, and Rachel are a very tight group."

Max blushed and shook her head, "I will have to think about that."

"Well whatever is going on between you three I can tell it makes you happy."

"Thanks."

Max left Taylor and walked out of Samuel's home to find him preparing a coach for them. She walked over and pet the horse as she said, "Where are we going?"

"Today is normally I normally sit under my oak tree and listen to what the squirrels and birds have to say, but I talked with the Lady of the Moon while you were finding your clothes and she wants you to meet the Amazon."

"Who is that?"

"A shapeshifter of incredible ability." Samuel smiled, "She is the last of her kind and is the founder of the Clan. You should call her by her given name though, Adeline Hawthorne."

"So I guess she can tell me how to stop the Clan in my time?"

"I don't think it is that simple." Samuel helped Max up into the coach, "Nothing the Lady of the Moon does is ever that simple."

"You were a king of the gods right?" Max fidgeted, "Why are you here and not up there with Artemis?"

"I was a father and I can leave this world any time I want to, but I believe it is better for me take a simpler form and help this world out in my own ways." Samuel whispered to the coach driver and climbed into the coach. "I was with the original travelers that came to this valley and fell in love it so I chose to stay as the town grew."

"So this place has been full of people like Chloe since the beginning?"

"The first to come were freed slaves seeking a better life, then came the gifted and the cursed, and finally came the people who would get the credit for founding Arcadia Bay."

"You sound bitter about that."

"Some of them are good people." Samuel raised the blinds, "The rest are the Prescotts. That family brought Hell with them and will one day bring an end to Arcadia Bay."

Max looked out the window at the Prescott General Store, Prescott Bank, Prescott Hotel and Prescott Theater, "They are less obvious in my time but they have just as much control."

"If I was able I would just wipe them all out." Samuel sighed, "But does days are long behind me."

"Hopefully they will get what is coming to them."

"Oh they will." Samuel nodded, "They are gathering debts the likes of which no mortal could fathom."

Max lowered the blinds as they passed the Prescott Ship Yard and said, "The more I see of this Arcadia Bay the more I miss mine."

"Don't worry. This will be over soon."

"I hope so." Max smiled, "I would hate to take the long way home."

\------

Taylor stepped outside to watch the town and was starting to enjoy being stuck in the past when two guys that smelled of hot manure walked over. She tried to ignore them but then the taller of the two, a man with a clouded eye and broken nose grabbed her arm and said, "You must be new to town, and you are all alone as well. For a girl as pretty as you well that is crime."

"I will give you until the count of three to let go of my arm before I make you let me go." Taylor glared at the man, "One...Two..."

Taylor grabbed the man's other hand as he reached for her and twisted it to make him fall to knees in pain. His friend moved in closer and she kicked him between the legs before kneeing the first man in the face.

A third man she didn't notice fell to the porch unconscious and a black man who couldn't have been more than four years older than her walked up, "I have no doubt you could have handled him, miss, but three against one seemed a bit unfair."

"Thanks..."

"Eliajah Washington."

"Taylor Christensen." Taylor smiled, "You are obviously a man who knows how to treat a lady. Care to show me around town?"

"No one knows Arcadia Bay better than me." Eliajah smiled, "Where to first?"

"I am thinking the lighthouse would be nice. That way I could get a good idea of how big Arcadia Bay is."

Eliajah laughed and said, "It so happens I am the keeper of that old lighthouse so today is truly your lucky day."

"I think you might be right."

Taylor walked with Eliajah and told him she was from France and he told her that he was from South Carolina. His dad was the cook for the first group of settlers and his mother was the seamstress. They both passed during a hard winter two years ago and he was trying to raise his sister, Faith, but she was frail and prone to sickness.

Taylor thought of her own mother when Eliajah mentioned Faith and gripped her purse tighter as they walked. She sighed and went quiet until they started up the trail to the lighthouse, "I know medicine and I might be able to treat your sister."

"Doctor Vaughn said there is nothing to be done." Eliajah frowned and shook his head, "He said that all I can do is make her comfortable."

"I believe he is doing the best he can, but I know other treatments." Taylor looked down, "Treatments that aren't available in the states."

"And you think these treatments can help my sister?"

Taylor nodded and placed her hand over her heart, "I swear by my degree from the University of Paris."

"Well I suppose it can't hurt." Eliajah nodded, "I will let you try those fancy French treatments."

Taylor nodded and tried to not let on she was lying as she said in French, "It is my way to repay your kindness."

Eliajah nodded and opened the door to the little cabin at the base of the lighthouse. He walked over to the little bed by the fireplace and took Faith's hand as he said, "I brought you a new doctor. She is a French woman."

"She is pretty." Faith coughed, "Are you courting her?"

"He might be." Taylor smiled at Eliajah and knelt by the bed before saying, "Can you wait outside?"

Eliajah gave Faith a kiss on the forehead before leaving and Taylor pulled out her spell book, "I will have you better in no time."

"You are a witch."

"I am a secret witch." Taylor pulled a jar down from above the sink and dumped the contents into a bowl, "You believe in magic?"

"When I was allowed to go outside Eliajah would take me down to the beach and I made a friend who could breathe underwater." Faith tried to laugh but started to cough instead, "She was a mermaid."

"I have a friend who is a demon, but she isn't evil no matter how hard she argues that she is."

Taylor placed her left hand on Faith's chest and her right over Faith's mouth as she started to chant in old French. She slowly pressed down with her left as she raised her right up and a black cloud came with it. She pushed down a little harder to force the rest of the cloud out and quickly trapped it in the jar before it could escape. The cloud became a swirling green miasma and she slipped it into her purse along with her grimoire.

After taking a moment to make sure Faith was breathing better she used a spell to heal the atrophy in Faith's legs and then used a spell to make Faith slip into a deep sleep. She walked outside and stepped up to edge of the cliff where Eliajah was waiting.

"Faith fell asleep."

"Did you figure out what was wrong with her?"

"Bronchial infection, and pnuemonia." Taylor dropped the jar off the cliff when Eliajah wasn't looking, "I gave her some of my medicine and now all we have to do is wait."

"Thank you."

"Faith is a sweet so I am happy to do all I can do." Taylor stepped closer to Eliajah, "This is a great view of the town."

"I love this view." Eliajah nodded, "It makes all of your problems seem small."

"Eliajah?"

Taylor looked at Faith as she walked out of the cabin and said, "How are you feeling, Faith? I didn't expect you to be up so soon."

"But..." Eliajah shook his head, "How?"

"My medicine..."

"She was born crippled." Eliajah shouted, "She couldn't walk!"

"Oh..." Taylor bit her lip, "Don't panic. I can explain."

"You are an angel." Eliajah lifted Taylor up into a hug, "God has answered my prayers!"

"I am a witch not an angel." Taylor had to straighten her dress when Eliajah let her down, "My magic is only capable of healing and nothing more.

"Still..." Eliajah lifted Faith into his arms, "What you have done can never be repaid."

"Well you already promised me a tour so how about a meal?" Taylor looked at Faith, "And I bet you are starving."

"Starving!" Faith nodded and hopped out of Eliajah's arms, "Can she stay for dinner?"

"Of course." Eliajah smiled, "Tonight I will cook up a feast fit for a French queen."

"I'd settle for just a meal." Taylor walked over to the cabin with Eliajah, "I have had a weird day."

"Any stories you want to tell?"

"Nothing that you would believe."


	10. Chapter 10

The coach rocked terribly as it came to a stop and Max stepped out to find herself in a small little village built in the center of a dense forest. There were at least hundred people all at work from tending to the fields of wheat and corn to smoking meats and tanning hides. She wanted to see it all but Samuel made her follow him toward a long house built over the stream that ran through the center of the village.

Max was about to follow Samuel into the long house when she saw a dark skinned woman walking through the flower beds with a Kodak Brownie and couldn't pass up the opportunity to ask her about it. The Brownie was what brought photography to the masses. Until now she had only ever read articles about it on Wikipedia and drooled over images of them on collector websites. And the one the woman had was the second model with the aluminum casing.

"You have the Kodak Brownie." Max smiled, "I want to get one but doubt I ever will. Can I take your picture?"

"I don't see why not."

Max took the camera but stopped before she took the woman's picture, "I am so sorry. I am being rude. My name is Max Caulfield."

"Dianara."

Max took Dianara's picture and gave her back the camera, "You are probably wondering why a human is here. Well all I can say is that it is very complicated."

"I was trying to figure out that smell that is hanging on you." Dianara licked the air and sat the camera aside, "It is like the air after a storm."

"What kind of..."

Dianara slipped around Max turning into a massive white boa constrictor as she did so and then turned back into a human, "Call me what you wish but I prefer the term gorgon."

"That is awesome." Max smiled, "My girlfriend is a werewolf and we adopted a little girl who is a weretiger. I honestly don't know too much about this stuff besides the basic lore and myths."

"Your girlfriend doesn't have a Clan to teach her?"

"Where I am from the Clan is not to be trusted." Max shook her head, "They sent someone out to attack her and when she didn't join they tried to kill her instead."

"Those kinds of groups are the reason we have to stay hidden." Dianara shook her head, "You see most of us were born with the gift but the wolf can be passed by bite. It is the only one that works that way."

"Why?"

"Well I don't know how much of this story is true but it is said that there was once an Amazon who became enamored with a man of great strength and prowess but what she didn't know was that he only sought her out because of the gifts that Artemis gave her." Dianara sat down, "One night after they had laid together he slit her wrist and drank her blood in the hopes to gain these powers but the only beast that would head his call was the wolf."

"And because he stole this power it became a curse instead of a gift." Max nodded, "How did it spread?"

"He created his own cult and gave them each of them the gift." Dianara shook her head, "Some lost themselves to this power and ended up fighting the beast for control and it drives them into a frenzy. Others seeing the beauty of this beast came to live in harmony with it and those can hear the call of the Moon."

"That is my Chloe." Max smiled, "The first time I saw her as a wolf was under the light of the full moon."

"You didn't react with fear?"

"I was a little scared when she started toward me as the wolf." Max laughed, "But then she started to lick me and turned back. After that it was easy for me to accept. She is a werewolf, her best friend is a vampire."

Dianara hissed and shook her head, "Vampires. I apologize, but those lost souls are not among the ones I would call friends."

"Rachel is nice." Max smiled, "She can turn into a flock of crows and only drinks animal blood."

"The only thing that is more dangerous that a vampire is a demon."

Max bit her lip to stifle a laugh, "I also have a demon friend. Her name is Victoria. I think I could also a count a witch as a friend as well. Her name is Taylor."

"It sounds like you have founded your own clan." Dianara smiled and picked up the camera again to take Max's picture, "There is nothing more important than finding people you are willing to call family."

"So this is where you disappeared to you." Samuel walked over, "Adeline is waiting for you and she is very excited. A human who had contact with the Protector of the Old Growth."

"You met..."

Max looked at Dianara and nodded, "He was really nice. I would have died if it wasn't for him."

Dianara took another picture and said, "I hope we can talk more later."

Max nodded, "So do I."

Max followed Samuel into the long house and they walked past the banquet table through another set of large doors to a massive library where Adeline was writing in a very large book laying on a marble altar. She was a very thin woman dark brown skin that had splotches of white on her hands, neck and her left eye. She sat down her pen when she saw Max and said, "So you are the far traveler sent to me by my mother."

Max walked up to the book and saw that it was a journal like the one she kept and said, "Your mother is Artemis?"

"In a way, but I don't call her by that name." Adeline smiled, "To me she is Diana. So what is it you are seeking?"

"I was hoping you knew." Max rubbed the tattoo on her hand, "I guess neither of us knows then."

"You have the mark of Chronos." Adeline looked at the tattoo and then rubbed the bandages hidden under the sleeve of her blouse, "It will kill you."

"What?"

"The more you use it the more it eats away at you." Adeline sighed, "These burns won't heal because they aren't burns."

"Then remove the mark."

"The mark can never be removed." Adeline sighed, "But it won't kill you if you give up a piece of your humanity. There will not be much change to you. You will still live and die as you were meant to but like Hercules, Achilles, Orpheus, or Persephone you will have a piece of the divine to fill in the place where your humanity was taken."

"That sounds awful." Max fidgeted and rubbed her arm as her resolve strengthened. If what Adeline was proposing worked then she could still live out her life with Chloe and that was the only thing that was important. "What do we do?"

"Well we need a god." Adeline looked at Odin, "Care to be apart of this?"

"I don't have much left in me." Samuel smiled, "If I do this I will just be Samuel. A simple man who will never age, never die, and never regret his choice. I will give what I have left to Max."

"It will take sometime to prepare the ceremony." Adeline nodded, "Stay here and prepare yourselves."

Max watched Adeline leave and said, "Are you certain that you want to do this?"

"As certain as you are." Samuel nodded, "It won't be easy for either us, but it will be hardest on you. It will force you to face the darkest aspects of yourself. Those places you never want to visit where your secrets and regrets slumber."

"I am familiar with those places." Max shook her head, "After I left Arcadia Bay I spent all my time in them. I hated myself for abandoning Chloe after her dad died, I regretted not begging my parents to stay, I regretted not writing or calling, and then I regretted the choices I made because of those regrets. If that is the worst that I have to face then I am ready for it."

"Are you certain?"

"I am." Max sat down, "I know that it will still be hard, but I also know that I will push through it."

"You let the darkness in but you hide it well."

"It is something I learned to do." Max fidgeted, "What will happen to you?"

"Harder to explain." Samuel smiled, "It will be easier for you just to see it."

\------

Taylor laid down her hand to reveal she only had a pair of twos and smiled at Faith who had won herself another three pieces of saltwater taffy. "You better be getting to bed."

Faith slipped the taffy into the leather satchel hanging from her bed post and slid under the covers, "Tell me another story."

"Let me find that book of yours first."

"No I want to hear a story about where you are from." Faith smiled, "I want to hear about magic and adventures."

"You want my story?" Taylor nodded, "Once upon a time there lived a lonely girl with not many friends who lived in a world she invented to make herself feel less lonely. She lived in this world with her mother and they were very happy until one day her mother got very sick. So sick that every doctor said that there was nothing they could do. The lonely girl got very sad and started to feel hopeless, but when she was at her lowest a new friend appeared who gave her a magic book and taught her how to use it to save her mother. This new friend also took the lonely girl to meet others like her and soon she wasn't lonely anymore."

"Did the lonely girl and her new friend fall in love and live happily ever after?"

"The lonely girl did fall in love but her new friend couldn't return her affections." Taylor sighed, "You see the new friend was dealing with troubles of her own that she didn't want to say and would end up falling in love with an angel."

"Then what about the lonely girl?"

Taylor tucked Faith in and said, "Well she is still looking for her happy ending."

"I know how it ends." Faith smiled, "The lonely girl decided to take a trip one day with another new friend and they ended up in a place full of fishing boats that was hidden in a sea of trees. In this place the lonely girl met a dutiful knight who job was to keep a beacon lit so that all the ships at sea could find the harbor safely and they fell in love. The lonely girl became known all around town as the happy girl and she lived happily ever after."

"We will see." Taylor kissed Faith on the forehead and added some more wood to the fire. "Now go to sleep so that you can best rest up for a trip to the beach tomorrow."

Taylor walked outside and saw Eliajah standing at the edge of the cliff and when he saw her he said, "You are really good with Faith."

"She is a sweet." Taylor smiled, "She is also determined that you and I fall in love."

"Is it working?" Eliajah laughed, "I am not afraid to admit that there an attraction between us."

"I feel it too, but I don't want to act on it." Taylor looked at Eliajah, "Once my friend gets back I might have to leave."

"Do you want to stay?"

"I do." Taylor let Eliajah take hold of her hand, "But I don't know if I can. I may be forced to go back with her."

"Then we will just have to spend as much time together we can before your friend returns." Eliajah tilted Taylor's head up and kissed her softly on the lips, "Should I stop by Samuel's tomorrow or will you come here?"

"Stop by Samuel's." Taylor smiled, "How much do you know about this town's weirdness?"

"I know the stories." Eliajah smiled, "Like the one my parents told me of a giant that watches us from the trees and plants saplings to replace the trees we cut down, or Faith's stories about her mysterious friend that played with her down at the tidal pools."

"The mermaid."

"Exactly." Eliajah nodded, "I never met them but then again I never believed in magic either but then you came into my life."

"What if I told I wasn't from France? What if I told you I was here because of magic or something like magic?"

"I would believe you."

Taylor took hold of Eliajah's hand and said, "That is a good answer. I will see you tomorrow."

Eliajah kissed Taylor once more, "I should be over by noon. Faith might be over sooner now that she can walk without help."

Taylor walked away smiling and had to fight the urge to dance across the beach when she reached it. She picked up some shells washed in by the tide and then picked up a nice looking piece of driftwood. She took it all back Samuel's and laid it on the coffee table in front of the couch before lighting all of the oil lamps around the parlor. She took a book of poetry from the bookshelf near the entrance to the dining room and started to read it as she walked around the room.

She only stopped reading when the grandfather clock in the main hallway chimed nine times and decided to go to bed. It was obvious that Max wasn't going to come back yet so she decided to turn in. There was a lot she had to do in the morning and she wanted to be rested for it.


	11. Chapter 11

Max walked back into the long house and was surprised at the change. The banquet table had been split down the middle and moved aside. Paper lanterns were hung from the rafters and trays of mouth watering delicious foods were being shared among the people watching the ceremony. She stepped up to where Samuel and Adeline were waiting, and said, "Sorry for being late."

"Taking pictures with Dianara?" Samuel smiled, "No better reason to be late than making new friends."

Adeline smiled and said, "Are you ready to begin the ceremony?"

"I am ready."

"As am I." Samuel smiled, "As am I."

"Friends, family, and far travelers." Adeline looked out at the room and sat a gold dagger and a silver chalice on the altar, "We gather now to bear witness to an ancient rite not seen or performed in centuries. We do so now to save the life of a great warrior chosen by the Lady of the Moon."

Samuel held out his hand and picked up the dagger. He sliced open his palm but instead of blood the cut started to glow. He held it over the cup as Adeline started to chant in a language that Max didn't understand and the light poured from the cut into the chalice. Samuel staggered as the light faded and Adeline poured wine into the chalice before handing it to Max.

"Drink it all and leave nothing behind."

Max looked at the chalice and took a deep breath before drinking all of it. The liquid burned all the way down and the taste brought back memories of warm honey tea with her grandmother when she was only five and it brought back memories of dancing in the rain with Chloe on the first day they met. These memories were followed by others and she started to cry as the memories overtook her. It felt like she was sinking in black water and after what felt like an eternity she found herself in her dorm.

She looked around the room at the dead plants in the window and the guitar missing its strings and walked into the hallway but instead found herself in the photography classroom where Mr. Jefferson was giving a lecture to a room full of other hers. They all turned to her as she took her place at the back of the room and she rubbed her hand over the names carved into the desk.

"So Max has finally decided to join us."

"She was probably to busy taking selfies, Mr. Jefferson." A Max dressed as Victoria said with a forced laugh, "She is a pathetic little hipster don't you think?"

"Yes, we all know she will never be a real photographer." Jefferson raised his camera, "All she can hope for is fleeting internet fame."

Max raised her hands to keep from being blinded by the camera flash and found herself sitting beside Chloe. They were driving down the highway in the dead of night with strange road signs just a blur outside the window.

"Don't say anything," Chloe scowled, "I am not in the mood to talk to you."

"What did I do?"

"You know exactly what you did." Chloe shook her head, "You abandoned me for five years so that you could live it up in Seattle. I don't even know why you came back because it sure as hell wasn't me."

"I get it now. I practice a conversation just like this in my head over and over again during the ride back to Arcadia Bay." Max sighed, "I knew that I would find you again, but I didn't expect you to be waiting for me in the parking lot. There was no anger, and all the tears that were shed were happy ones. We hugged until my parents made a joke about us being sewn together at the hip. It was one of the happiest days of my life."

"Max..."

"Do you want to know why I didn't write?" Max looked out the window, "I wanted you to forget about me. I knew I was moving but lied to you about it. I promised to go to your dad's funeral but I left town instead. I betrayed you and I hated myself for that. I wanted you to hate me as much as I hated myself."

"As if Chloe could hate us." The Chloe driving turned into another Max as they pulled into the Two Whales parking lot, "Go on inside."

Max stepped out of the truck and found herself inside of the diner. She was once more surrounded by different versions of herself, but one by one they faded until only one was left. She was wearing dark clothes and sat down in a booth in the back before motioning for Max to come over.

"So you are the embodiment of my darkest secrets and fears?"

"Are you sure of that? There may be more after me."

"No." Max shook her head, "I know you. You are the first one that has really made me feel afraid."

"If you really understood who I am then you wouldn't be so afraid of me."

"And who are you?"

The other Max held out her hands and said, "Let me show you."

Max took hold of the other her's hands and in a flash of light she was at the lighthouse with a younger version of herself. She looked around and said, "I don't understand."

"I am the you that you buried. The you that never really left Arcadia Bay." Young Max smiled, "You buried me so deep that I became everything that you hated about yourself. I became the little voice inside you that reminded you of who you used to be and you thought I was telling you that you weren't worthy. That you abandoned Chloe."

"But you weren't."

"You were hearing what you wanted to hear, but lately the truth has been breaking through. You can hear me when I tell you that you deserve to be loved, and to be a famous photographer." Young Max grew into an older Max wearing bright clothes with her hair pulled back into a ponytail, "You are hearing me when I tell you to stand up, to be heard, and to not let fear control you."

"And I am listening." Max smiled, "I wouldn't be here if I wasn't."

"Damn right."

Max smiled and hugged the other her as she said, "We are awesome."

"No." The other Max started to fade, "You are awesome. Give Chloe a big kiss for me."

Max pulled the other her tighter and was once more engulfed in a flash of light as she once again started to fall through the sea of memories. She closed her eyes and let them overtake her once more as she came crashing back into her body.

\------

Taylor woke the next morning the smell of burning fat and fresh bread and quickly went downstairs to find Max sleeping on the couch and Samuel cooking breakfast while humming a tune. She took a piece of the charred bacon and said, "So how is Max?"

"She will be fine." Samuel smiled, "Her soul is mending."

Taylor ate the piece of bacon and said, "Can I..."

"Stay?" Samuel smiled, "I said that there is no accidents. You came here for a reason and if that reason is to stay then I won't force you to go back."

"But won't that change the future?" Taylor sighed, "I don't understand how this works."

"Time is flexible and you have already changed the future." Samuel laughed, "The sight is fading but I can see that you saved a girl whose fate was to die. You staying wouldn't change that much or maybe it would change everything."

"For the better or the worse?"

"I don't know." Samuel pulled the biscuits out of the oven, "Ultimately you have to chose whether or not love and happiness is worth the risk."

Taylor hugged herself and said, "I don't want to be here when Max wakes up. Do you have any paper for me to write a few letters?"

"In the parlor." Samuel nodded, "

"Thank you."

Taylor went into the parlor and wrote three letters. One for Victoria, one for Courtney, and one for Max. She was going to give them to Samuel to give to Max but as she walked backed into the kitchen Max woke up.

At first Max just seemed to be slightly confused at first and said, "Taylor? Why am I...How long have I been out."

"I think it has been just a few hours." Taylor handed Max the letters, "Listen I am awful at goodbyes so take these and read yours when you get back to the present."

"What are you doing?"

"I met someone here and I am staying." Taylor smiled, "The letters will explain."

"But what about your mother." Max looked at the letters, "Why isn't there a letter here for her?"

"My mom is gone." Taylor shook her head, "She was traveling and her cancer came back while she was in Germany. She chose not to come home and died a couple of weeks later."

Max hugged Taylor as Samuel came into the room and let go so that he could give her money. "I guess this is goodbye then."

Taylor nodded and quickly hugged Max once more before walking out the front door with a smile on her face and stopped by the general store to buy Faith a new doll before heading up to the lighthouse.

Eliajah was still resting after staying up all night keeping the kerosene lanterns burning but Faith was playing in her garden, which was mostly half dead plants and carefully stacked rock collections.

"My mom taught me a little about gardening." Taylor smiled at Faith, "I could teach you what I know."

"Taylor!" Faith trampled her plants and jumped into Taylor's arms causing her to drop the doll, "Eliajah said you might be leaving today."

"Well I decided that I couldn't possibly leave someone like you behind." Taylor hugged Faith back, "So I am staying no matter what happens."

"Faith why are you?" Eliajah smiled when he saw Taylor and ran to join in on the hug, "I was worried that..."

"She said she is staying." Faith squirmed out of the hug, "So now you two can get married."

"It is too soon to say that." Taylor smiled at Eliajah, "But she is right about me staying. I wrote some letters for my friend to give to the people back home so that they at least understand why I couldn't leave."

"Are we still going to the beach?" Faith walked over hugging the doll, "I want to see if my friend has come back in."

"Of course." Taylor nodded, "Are you coming Eliajah?"

"I have to get some supplies from town but I will join you at the beach after."

Taylor gave Eliajah a kiss on the cheek and said, "We will be waiting."


	12. Chapter 12

Max stepped away from the Tobanga and looked at Samuel's shed before walking back to the dorms, but froze when she saw that there was a wheelchair ramp instead of stairs and then realized that it was no longer called the Prescott Dormitory but was instead called the Raphael Metts Memorial Dormitory.

She rushed up to her floor and let out a sigh of relief when all of the names on the directory was the same. Her name was even crossed out and Svetlana's written above it in Rachel's cutesy cursive. She slipped Taylor's letters under Courtney's and Kate's doors but paused at her own because it was covered in her photographs along with some prints of her favorite famous photographs.

After looking over them she walked into the room and smiled when she saw that it was almost exactly how she left it including the sleeping Chloe, who woke when she tried to sneak back into bed.

"Why are you up?"

"Had to stretch my legs." Max froze when the blanket fell away from Chloe and she saw that Chloe's tattoo was different. It was now full of bright flowers and monarch butterflies. "And then I got sent back in time with Taylor."

"Wait, babe, I need you to explain that."

"I went back to the start of the twentieth century." Max sat down at her desk and pulled her letter from the inside pocket of her vest, "Long story short I found out Samuel was Odin, I got new clothes and burned my old ones, and then met with the Clan back when they were still the good guys, and underwent a ritual to gain control over my powers."

"You will have to give me the long version later." Chloe shook her head, "What is that letter?"

"Taylor's goodbye." Max pulled the letter out of the envelope, "She chose to stay."

"Woudn't that fuck up the timestream?"

"Well I have noticed a few minor changes, but nothing disasterous so far." Max read over the two simple paragraphs Taylor wrote twice before handing the letter Chloe, "She fell in love."

"Love is always a good reason to flip off God and screw with the timestream." Chloe read over the letter before laying it on the table, "Are you going to google this Eliajah?"

"Of course." Max opened her browser and quickly typed in Eliajah Washington and Arcadia Bay, "Alright here he is. Eliajah Washington was the town's lighthouse keeper until he died during the first World War. He left behind a sister, Faith Washington, a wife, Taylor Washington, and four children, Maxine, Victoria, Courtney, and Aaron."

Chloe clicked Taylor's name to load a picture, "She looks happy, and she lived to be eighty-three years old."

Max printed the picture of Taylor and went back to click on Faith's name, "And Eliajah's sister is still alive."

"She claims to be a hundred and thirty years old." Chloe shook her head and clicked on another link to bring up the homepage for the Arcadia Heritage Museum."

"Well that might be possible, and that Museum didn't exist before." Max shook her head, "We will have to head over there next Friday to hear one of her lectures."

"Max if we weren't married I'd think you would be making all of this up."

"What?!"

Chloe laughed so hard she started to cough and said, "I am joking."

Max shook her head and walked over to Svetlana's crib, "She is a heavy sleeper."

"We are going to need to figure out how to keep her from changing," Chloe walked over, "Dana wants to babysit so badly. She wants to be ready when her own baby is born."

"Dana kept the baby?"

"Another change?" Chloe nodded, "It was hard on her and Juliet at first. I mean how would you feel if I had a fling and got pregnant?"

"It would break my heart." Max took hold of Chloe's hand, "I would be absolutely devastated."

"That was exactly how Juliet felt, but Kate was able to comfort her and then helped her and Dana figure it out."

"That sounds like Kate." Max smiled, "So Kate is friends with Juliet and Dana then?"

Chloe pulled down a picture from the top of the bookshelf. "Juliet, Dana, Kate plus me and you. The Blackwell Cleaning Council. Even if you don't remember all of the details your journal should help."

"Of course, I forgot all about my journal." Max pulled her bag out from under the bed. It and the journal inside still looked the same. "If you want to go to bed you can. I am going to stay up and study myself."

"No, I will stay up with you so that I can answer any questions you may have."

Max climbed into bed and scooted into the corner so that she could sit up and still leave room for Chloe. Her journal entries were almost identical to the ones she wrote before except she talked more about Chloe before coming to Blackwell and talked more about the friends she had made at Blackwell . After that it was all the same from seeing Chloe as a wolf to them deciding to raise Svetlana.

"It is all so different yet it is also so similar." Max smiled, "So we stayed in touch after I moved?"

"Your dad got a better job in Seattle and you a week after my dad died." Chloe snuggled closer to Max, "We kept in contact the best we could. A letter or postcard ever so often and a birthday gift that was sometimes a little late."

"And you still went punk rebel, got attacked by a werewolf, and got your tattoo to cover up your scars."

Chloe took the journal from Max and sat it on the bedside table, "It is Chaos Theory."

"What?"

Chloe kissed Max on the cheek as she wrapped her arm around Max's back, "It says that a butterfly flapping its wings in can cause a hurricane. Taylor stays in the past, had a family, and that family became like a handful of pebbles tossed into a pond. The caused ripples in the pond that shifted everything ever so slightly but because that was so long ago we were only hit by the fading wave."

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Max laughed, "I will just try not to seem surprised by anything."

"You will get used to it." Chloe smiled, "But please don't make anymore trips back in time."

"Only if I need to." Max reached over Chloe to turn off the light and nestled into Chloe's arms, "Like you said Love is a great reason to flip off God and screw with the timestream."

"True." Chloe rubbed her hand down Max's back, "Goodnight Max."

"Goodnight, Chloe."

\------

Kate yawned as dug for her keys in her purse and shook her head at how perfect Victoria looked. She unlocked the door and stepped over the letter without seeing it. Her mind was still trying to process everything that had happened and she hadn't really slept since, but now she was back in her dorm and her world started to make sense again. "So what did you talk with my dad about?"

"He had a lot of the same questions you had, and even a few more that I didn't have the answers for." Victoria took Alice from her cage and sat down on the bed, "He also wanted to know about our bond and said that he approved. I am not really sure he understood but he is fine with you and I being a couple."

Kate sat down next to Victoria and scratched Alice on the head, "I knew he would understand...So what do we do now?"

"Well how about we get out of town for the weekend?" Victoria smiled, "We could take a tour of the tea shops in Portland."

"That gives us three days to plan." Kate noticed the letter and walked over to it, "Did you see this when we walked in?"

"No." Victoria sat Alice down onto the floor and took the letter from Kate, "It has my name on it but this stationary is old and new...It also smells like air after a thunderstorm. This handwriting also reminds me of Taylor's but once again the ink is old."

Kate put Alice back into her cage, "What does it say?"

"Victoria, although you might already know that something has happened through our deal, I am no longer at Blackwell. I was pulled back in time with Max to the start of the twentieth century. As you can guess I was not happy with this at first but this place speaks to me in a way that the future doesn't. Then I met them." Victoria paused, "Where is Max?"

"I saw her as we were coming in. She was doing a photo shoot with Dana and Rachel at the fountain." Kate smiled, "Come on keep reading. Who is the them she met?"

"I met Eliajah first, and a felt the connection between us almost immediately. His gentle eyes and rough hands. He was the lighthouse keeper...he is the lighthouse keeper and he is only one piece of the reason I chose to stay. I am used to feeling love and ignoring it. The other reason is Eliajah's sister, Faith. She was dying and seeing her brought back so many terrible memories I had to save her. I rolled my eyes at how Max, Chloe, and Rachel acted with Svetlana, but when your family finds you there is no fighting it. Goodbye Victoria, and I hope that Kate continues to make you happy."

"That is so romantic." Kate smiled, "Traveling back in time and falling in love with a lighthouse keeper."

"Let's go ask Max some questions." Victoria stood, "Taylor obviously left out some important details."

Kate took Victoria's hand as they walked out of the room but froze when she realized they were no long in the dormitory but were instead in a stark white hallway with a sealed bunker door at one end. "Victoria, what just happened?"

Victoria's eyes were wide with fear and she started to walk forward, "I don't know. I didn't feel any magic, and it just feels wrong."

Kate pulled Victoria closer to comfort her and tried not to seem afraid as the bunker door opened. On the otherside was a gallery of pictures featuring women twisted in agony with a lone black leather couch in the center.

The lights flickered and Jefferson walked out of a painting on the far wall. He said nothing as he conjured a decantur of bourbon and a glass to pour it into. He took a drink and finally said, "I have been working on this town for nearly a hundred and fifty years, and my plan was near completion until last night when history was unwritten. What do you know of that?"

Kate swallowed when she saw skeletal wings on Jefferson's shadow and then realized the shadow was moving freely of him, "You aren't a demon."

"Do not compare me to those creatures!" Jefferson's voice boomed but his rage quickly faded and his calm demeanor returned, "Answer my question before I lose my patience. Someone changed history and now Sean Prescott is in prison, and Nathan Prescott is recovering in a mental hospital. My plan required Nathan and now he is beyond reach. Who did this?"

"It wasn't us." Victoria was trembling but was still trying to appear strong, "We have..."

"Everything started to fall apart when this human summoned you." Jefferson's shadow stretched to the wall behind Kate and Victoria before grabbing them in its massive shadowy hands, "There is no such thing as coincidence. What did you do?"

"We didn't do anything." Kate stopped being afraid and the shadow hand holding her let go as Jefferson backed away, "All that has happened is God's will."

"God is dead!" Jefferson's charged at Kate and grabbed her by the throat before grabbing her hand causing the red thread tying her to Victoria to reveal itself. He played with the thread before breaking it and said, "Three days is important to you so I will give you three days. If one of you doesn't kill the other by the third day then I will wipe this town off the map. It is your choice now. Their blood will be on your hands. Is your love more important than the lives of thousands of innocents?"

Kate clenched her fist and took a deep breath to let the anger go causing Jefferson to drop her as the room melted away.She looked up and down the dormitory hallway as she tried to regain her footing in the real world and said, "That was...How are you doing?"

"I can't believe that Jefferson is a fallen." Victoria rubbed her wrist and shivered as she said, "I thought they were just a myth."

"We aren't playing his game," Kate shook her head and took a hold of Victoria's hand as she started to walk, "He is going to try and destroy Arcadia no matter what we do. We are going to stop him."

Victoria stopped and pulled Kate into a kiss, "I love you. Whatever happens when the third day comes I will never stop loving you."

Kate blushed and kissed Victoria back, "I love you too."


	13. Chapter 13

Max looked over at Chloe, who was talking with her mom on the phone, and then went back to the shots she took of Rachel and Dana that were carefully spread out over the picnic table. She then pulled out her portfolio from her bag along with her journal. It still shocked her that she had enough confidence that she had put together a portfolio but all of the shots were ones that she had taken before. Juliet and Dana dancing, Brooke working on her deathbot, Kate holding Alice, Victoria sitting on the edge of the fountain smoking an electronic cigarette, and dozens of nature shots.

Rachel picked up a picture that was just Dana and said, "Two months pregnant and glowing. You going to send her this one?"

"I was going to make it bigger first." Max picked up one of Rachel holding Svetlana, "This one belongs to the portfolio."

Rachel smiled and looked at Chloe as she shuffled over with a frown on her face, "That is the I didn't get my way look. Come sit by me and I will give you a massage."

"Its not a bad as you think." Chloe smiled and pulled Svetlana out of the stroller, "If I want some extra cash for our trip up to Seattle I have to clean out the garage and finish painting the house."

Max took a shot of Chloe holding Svetlana and placed it in the back of the portfolio next to the one of Rachel and Svetlana. She rubbed her hand over both and then noticed a man walking toward them in a Blackwell Security uniform, except she was certain that he was not one of the school's regular guards. He definitely looked military though with how starched his clothes were, and how his boots were polished to a mirror finish.

Chloe glared at him when he stopped at their picnic table and said, "This is a private group and we aren't doing anything wrong."

"David Madsen." David held out a business card, "I am a private investigator and the owner of Madsen Security Services. You three are Rachel Amber, Max Caulfield, and Chloe Price. I also know each of your secrets."

Max took the card and said, "Have you been following us?"

"Yes." David nodded, "I was working in San Diego when a package arrived that told me to come to this town. That was back in August, and I have been here ever since watching you three from a safe distance."

Chloe growled and said, "Why?"

"Because I was hired to." David glared at Chloe, "But now they have paid me to tell you what I know and to tell that the clan that has been harassing you isn't from Arcadia Bay. They told me to tell you that I am working for Adeline Hawthorne. They said Max would know her."

Max slid over and said, "We can trust him. Now what did you mean by this clan isn't from Arcadia?"

"Well it is more of a cult." David sat down, "I first ran into them without realizing it while I still lived in Flagstaff. I was helping the police look into what I thought was a militia group but the deeper I dug the more I realized that this couldn't just be a militia. These people were involved in human trafficking, drugs, and human sacrifice. Then I found a journal in my grandfathers stuff from World War Two that talked about Nazi's searching for shapeshifters, and about a demon general that he killed with a holy man's thigh bone."

"And instead of calling it crazy you started to dig." Max looked at Chloe, "And you found out about people like Chloe and Rachel."

"A friend of mine from the local reservation helped me put it together." David sighed, "The clan butchered him for talking to me. Left him in eight different boxes on my doorstep. I guess they thought that would get me to back off but instead I found them and drove them out of Arizona."

"And to San Diego." Chloe looked at Max, "And then to here."

"No." David shook his head, "I think in some way they have always been here. I guess it was to observe the Clan that is here. What is happening now is a war of ideals. Only thing is this group, I call them the Exiles, is not strong enough to face this other so they decided to bolster their ranks by luring people out of the other group and by turning people like Chloe. Drug addicts, runaways, abuse victims, and anyone else that wouldn't be missed."

"Fuck you." Chloe crossed her arms, "You don't know me."

"I did not mean to offend you, but you do fit their demographic." David shook his head, "If not for your strong will to live and Rachel stepping in to kill that werewolf you may have ended up a soldier or food."

"So what do you want from us?" Max looked at David, "How can we help you?"

"I want you to tell me what you know of this groups leaders." David laid out several pictures including ones of Frank and Svetlana, "I know these two have been removed from the board. Frank is at the hospital right now, and is dealing with both liver and kidney failure, and Svetlana has been given a second chance that she doesn't deserve."

Max pointed to one of a white guy with matted dreadlocks and said, "I think this is the guy that Old John killed."

"That leaves just two." David nodded, "I will begin my hunt then and if I find anything I will give you a call."

"Don't." Chloe shook her head, "I don't want to be apart of this war. I have never wanted to be apart of it. I just want them to leave me...to leave us alone."

"You should try to find the Arcadia Clan." David pulled out a little charm band made from gold with a moon hanging from it. "They gave me this for Svetlana. As long as she wears it the tiger will remain dormant."

Chloe took the charm band and said, "Thank you."

"I understand you." David stood, "I was just a regular person trying to maintain a business while getting paid to bust cheaters and frauds. I never want to be a man that had to hunt monsters and freaks, but here I am. I am not only hunting them but I am working for them."

"If we need you we will call you." Max placed the business card into her bag, "And my girlfriends aren't freaks or monsters. They are just people."

David shrugged and said, "Whatever you say, missy, and I will be waiting for your call."

Rachel glared at David as he left and said, "Well that was unpleasant."

Max pulled out her phone and quickly googled David and pulled up an article that was talking about the death of his friend, "Well he is wanted for murder. The police think he was the one that chopped up his friend because the tools used were the same ones they found in his garage."

"We should call them and tell them were he is." Chloe smiled, "There might be a reward."

"No." Max shook her head, "I think he is an asshole as well, but he might be an useful asshole."

"How about after?" Chloe smiled, "Can we do it after?"

"I will think about it." Max shook her head, "So what do you all want to do now?"

"Well the junkyard is tainted, and I am not hungry so there is no reason to go to the Two Whales." Chloe looked at Rachel who was smiling, "That is your evil plan smile."

"Well I was just thinking that if we get what your mom wants finished we could possibly take off on Friday, and make the trip a three day weekend." Rachel looked at Max, "We could stop by your parents' place and then you can take us to all of your favorite galleries before I show you all my favorite places. Some of them are gone but I can give you a historical tour of the city."

"That is definitely going to be eighty percent made up crap." Chloe laughed, "But I like this plan, and with you two to help me with the work it should be over in a flash."

Max smiled and stood. She was happy that Rachel was able to to distract them for the moment from David's unwanted visit and closed her eyes for a moment to let go of the feelings twisting inside her before saying, "I got to go back to my room for a moment. Do you mind waiting for me by the truck?"

Chloe gave Max a kiss on the cheek and said, "We will wait for you."

Max kissed Chloe back and said, "Thanks, and don't forget to put that bracelet on Svetlana. If it does what David says it does then we can worry less about showing her off to people."

"We are new parents." Rachel stood and looked down at the stroller, "We have the right to be cautious. I am two hundred years old and this is the first time I really felt attached to a place and...too people."

"I thought you were only a hundred?" Chloe grinned, "One of these days you will have to tell us your true backstory."

"What if I don't remember it?" Rachel smiled, "I was shot in the head during a Vietnam War protest and my brain got really scrambled."

"Truth or lie?" Max took hold of Rachel's hand as she looked her in the eyes and saw actual confusion. "I believe that one. She has said that she like to hang out at colleges and colleges back then were the sites of a lot of anti-war protests."

"Yeah I can buy that." Chloe nodded, "Alright go get what you want out of your room Max and we will go introduce our little bundle of joy to my mom."

"I should be back in ten minutes or less."

Max started back toward the dorms but as she walked down the ramp she saw Jefferson waving at her. She walked over to him and said, "If this is about the Everyday Heroes Contest I have narrowed down my submission to three pictures. I should have it ready by tomorrow."

"Well it is good that you are still on top of things, Max." Jefferson smiled, "But I have a different reason for talking with you today. What do you know about the strangeness of Arcadia Bay?"

"I..." Max looked around when notice the air was getting colder and backed away from Jefferson as he got closer, "What do you know about it?"

"Answering a question with a question." Jefferson smiled, "Even when you know danger is close you don't change."

Max wanted to run but she realized that Jefferson's shadow was somehow holding her and before she could scream for Chloe the world shifted into a gruesome gallery. She looked around at the pictures and then to Jefferson, "What are you?"

"A collector of sorts." Jefferson smiled and stroked Max's cheek, "There exists a strange beauty in the eyes of humans. Not all of them have it but when I do find it I have to make it mine. I was planning on doing this with more ceremony so that you would fully come to understand the hopelessness of your situation but sadly time is..."

Max raised her hand as it started to glow and blasted Jefferson back into the wall, "Fuck you!"

Jefferson shook off the energy and smiled, "Now that is interesting. I was looking for the person who took Arcadia from me and here she now stands before me."

Max backed up into the wall as Jefferson started toward her and screamed as hands pulled her through it. She shook off the hands and found herself standing in snowbank. She looked around at the twisted spires and then looked up at the raging storm before noticing a woman with charred skin walking toward her, "Who are you?"

"Eleanor..." Eleanor adjusted the crimson cloak draped around her body, "I fell into this place when my daughter's lover killed me. I gave my soul for power. I believed that if I got enough power I could force my family back together...I woke up when my own power was blown back at me."

"You are Kate's mom." Max shivered and put her hands under her arms to keep them warm, "She told me a some of what happened but not all of it."

"I will never be able to undo what I did to her." Eleanor sighed and started to walk up the snowy trail, "When we get out of here can you tell her that I am sorry?"

"You could tell her yourself."

"No," Eleanor sighed, "This place is what I deserve."

"Kate would disagree." Max shook her head, "She would forgive you if you asked her to."

"And that is why I am not going to ask her."

Max shook her head and followed Eleanor into a cave. There were other demons huddled around piles of glowing stones and rubbed her arms as she started to regain the feeling in her extremities, "So are we safe here from Jefferson?"

"For the moment." Eleanor handed a glowing stone to Max, "Hold this until we can get you some proper clothes for this place."

Max nodded and sat down near a group of demons with large eyes and quill-like hair. She pulled the camera out of her bag and took a picture of the crystalline staglamites growing from the ceiling and then took a picture of the paintings covering the walls. It helped her feel more comfortable with her situation and after she place the pictures into her journal she pressed the glowing stone to her chest.

\-------

Kate waved at Chloe and Rachel as she jogged down the ramp and looked around for Max, but didn't see her which meant she might have wandered off into the woods to take some pictures. She walked over to Chloe and hugged her before hugging Rachel and said, "Where is Max. Me and Victoria need to ask her about a letter."

"She should be at the dorm." Chloe pulled out her phone, "But she should be back in a few minutes."

"Are you sure?" Kate rubbed the back of her head, "I just came from the dorms and I didn't see her anywhere."

"What?" Chloe shook her head, "Come on let's go check her room. She is going to be there."

Kate watched Chloe run off and said, "What was that about?"

"She is worried about Max's time powers." Rachel took hold of Svetlana's stroller and started after Chloe at brisk pace, "You probably know that Max went back in time and Chloe is afraid that it will happen again and that Max won't come back."

"You don't think so."

"Max is smart and resourceful." Rachel smiled, "If she got stuck somewhere she would find some way to get back to us. She would tear apart the universe if she had to."

"That is true, but it would be better if she didn't do that." Kate shook her and stopped when she saw a giant black and grey wolf sniffing around the dorms, "Chloe?"

Chloe turned back and said, "She stopped here. Her scent just vanishes and there is a trace of something else in its place."

"Did she..."

"Jump back in time?" Chloe shook her head, "No, that smells like the air after a storm. This is something else...Where is Victoria?"

"Our bond was broken." Kate rubbed her wrist and shook her head, "She wanted to come with me to get Max, but since neither of us have slept in awhile I made her go to bed."

"We might have to wake her up." Chloe looked at Rachel, "This time I can smell the sulfur.

"Do you think that the Exiles are working with a demon?"

"This is my fault." Kate hugged herself, "The reason I wanted to talk to Max was because me and Victoria were threatened by Jefferson. He isn't human and he is pissed that someone took Arcadia Bay from him by changing the past. We didn't tell him about Max but he may have figured it out."

"I thought there was something off with that asshole." Rachel crossed her arms, "If he did take Max then he has just made his last mistake."

Chloe put her hand on Rachel's shoulder and nodded, "Can Victoria find her?"

"I don't know." Kate fidgeted, "Listen I am going to call her but I have to warn you that Jefferson isn't someone you can fight. He is a fallen angel and he claims to have the power to destroy this town. That was the threat he made to us. In three days he will destroy Arcadia if me and Kate don't do what he wants."

Chloe took a few deep breaths and picked up Svetlana, "And what is that?"

"He says that he wants either me or Victoria has to kill the other, but I believe that is a lie." Kate rubbed her wrist again, "He wants us to suffer before he destroys the town.

Chloe handed Svetlana to Rachel and hugged Kate as she said, "We can deal with this."

"Thank you." Kate dried her eyes and texted Victoria, "She will be down in a moment."

Kate walked over to the bench under the school's hundred year old oak tree and sat down to wait for Victoria. She opened the Bible app on her phone and started read over Revelations but her mind started to drift and by the time Victoria came out she was researching fallen angels and old stories featuring the devil.

Victoria walked over to Kate with her eyes on Rachel and Chloe and said, "What is going on?"

"We think Jefferson took Max." Kate quickly hit stop on her phone when it started to play the Devil Went Down to Georgia, "Can you find her?"

"Maybe." Victoria waved Chloe over, "Do you have anything of Max's on you?"

Chloe sat down and started to empty out the contents of her pockets. A cigarette lighter that she still carried even after she quit smoking, a bunch of foreign coins, spare bullets, a switchblade, and the ribbon that Max had her hair tied back with when she got back from the past. She handed the ribbon to Victoria and started to fill her pockets back up as she said, "Will that work?"

"Yes," Victoria clamped her hands together and blew into them three times before saying, "I need a sheet of paper."

Kate pulled her sketchpad out of her bag and tore out a sheet from the back, "What are you doing?"

Victoria smiled and poured the ash out on to the paper as she said, "Where is Maxine Caulfield?"

Chloe watched the ash liquefied and form words, "Maxine Caulfield was taken to the place between all worlds and then to Hell where she now stands among the great spires."

"Max is in hell?" Rachel looked at the paper and was trying to hide her worry, "Does that mean she is..."

"She is alive." Kate smiled, "People don't go to hell when they die. How are we going to save her?"

"I can do it." Victoria smiled, "It might take a few hours but finding her should be easy."

"I am going with you." Chloe crossed her arms, "If Max is in danger then I am going to help you save her."

"I am going as well."

Kate nodded and said, "So am I."

"No." Chloe shook her head, "Kate we need you here to keep an eye out for Jefferson since you said he is planning something, and Rachel you need to be here to protect her and Svetlana. If we aren't back in time or if we don't come back I also want you to take them and get out of Arcadia Bay."

"Are you serious?" Rachel looked down at Svetlana and then to Chloe before taking a deep breath and saying, "If things start to get really bad around here I will get them to safety, but you better come back and you better have Max with you."

Kate pulled Victoria into a kiss and said, "The same goes for you. You better come back to me."

"I will do my best to make that happen." Victoria kissed Kate on the neck and then the back of her hand, "But if it does go bad here listen to Rachel and get out. We will find you afterward."


	14. Chapter 14

Chloe hit the snow with a hard thud and shook it off of her parka as she sat back up. She looked around at the drifting dunes of snow and at the spirals of black glass growing down from the raging storm and said, "So where is the fire and the brimstone?"

"This is it." Victoria shifted back into her demon form and started to walk, "Now stay close because there is dangers hidden out here that even I may have a hard time sensing."

"Like what?" Chloe picked up her pace, "Are we talking hellhounds or something?"

"Hellhounds are sweeties if well trained." Victoria smiled, "But there are some wild ones out there. What I am talking is holes in the ice, savage demons, and nightmares that you have to see to believe."

Chloe kicked away the snow and swallowed when she saw they were walking on polluted looking green ice, "This is a lake?"

"Made of chlorine." Victoria pulled Chloe aside and stomped the ground to make some of the snow fall through a hole, "The holes are made by giant worms that live far below where the chlorine is still a liquid. The holes led straight down into their mouths."

"I get why you said fuck this place." Chloe nodded, "But I don't get why you go around making deals with people so that they end up here as well. Is it some sort of sick revenge or was it jealousy?"

"I don't know why." Victoria sighed and rubbed her wrist nervously, "It is something I was supposed to do that I am not doing anymore. Can we not talk about this?"

"Sorry." Chloe paused when she smelled something strange in the air and grabbed Victoria's arm, "So can demons die?"

"If we are killed here yes but if they are killed on Earth no." Victoria helped Chloe over a large chunk of ice, "Although some demons believe that those that die here are sent someplace else or become something else."

"Okay..." Chloe paused again as the smell grew closer and said, "So who are the Lords of the Lower Hells?"

"Extremely powerful demons that have amassed thousands of followers. They are capable of creating the own realms within this world and can alter the appearance of their followers to serve their delusions."

"Who did you serve?"

"No one." Victoria glared at something in the distance, "I was what you might call a mercenary. I worked for myself with the plan that I could one day become a Lord of Hell. And I was doing pretty damn well with the Vortex Club as my coven. Forty years of ever changing members and hundreds of contracts...Until Kate and..."

"So Kate's mom and her aunt they were on their way to becoming Lords of Hell themselves right?" Chloe rubbed her neck, "Max tried to talk about it but since she barely understood it not much made sense."

"Do you really care about any of this or are you just trying to distract yourself?"

"Distract myself." Chloe grinned, "Talking is keeping me from thinking about the fact that we are being stalked right now by seven creatures using the dunes for cover."

"I sensed them as well but I doubt they mean us any harm." Victoria stopped at the entrance to a tunnel that had been carved into a glacier, "They are either scouts or scavengers. Either way they are servants of something more powerful and by the way they backed away at the sight of this tunnel I'd say we will be attacked by whatever that is on the other side."

Chloe nodded and pulled her revolver out of the inside of her jacket, "That is why I brought this."

"You brought a gun into Hell?" Victoria shook her head, "Where did you even get that thing at?"

"I found it in a glove box at the junkyard." Chloe spun the barrel before loading it, "I even dipped the tips of the bullets into holy water just in case that kind of thing works on demons."

"It does." Victoria sighed, "Where did you even get holy water?"

"Looked it up online and had Kate make it." Chloe started down the tunnel, "I figure if she is a natural conduit for magic and a saint like you said then her holy water will pack a punch."

"That makes a terrifying amount of sense." Victoria followed after Chloe, "And you know how to use it right?"

"I have had a lot of practice at the junkyard." Chloe nodded, "Never shot a moving target though so..."

"Then just put it away." Victoria stopped when they came to a fork in the tunnel, "I don't want you to accidentally shooting me or yourself."

"The safety..." Chloe dropped the gun when it went off into the ground and laughed nervously as she turned the safety on, "I thought I had the safety on."

Victoria pinched the bridge of her nose and held out her hand, "Just put that away."

Chloe nodded and slipped the gun back into her inside pocket, "I am going to keep it loaded though."

"And they allow you near Svetlana?" Victoria shook her head, "You seem like the kind of woman who would fill her baby bottle with chocolate milk or coffee."

"I am going to laugh that off as a joke." Chloe smiled despite how much the comment hurt her and said, "And if you are trying to figure out which way to go it is the left tunnel. The right one smells like musk, rotten fruit, and sulfur. The left smells like that lightning, ice, and wet fur."

Victoria started down the left path and said, "I offended you didn't I?"

"You mean with that comment about my parenting? Or was it the all the bullying you put Max and Kate through?" Chloe frowned, "Or the graffiti you wrote on the bathroom wall that said that I would fuck anyone that gave me weed? Or the half a dozen of others that went after Dana, Juliet, Alyssa, Brooke, and Stella? Or how about that time you broke into Max's room and stole the box of snacks that her mom sent her for her birthday? Shit your list of offenses could go on for miles and that is just the last two months."

"I..." Victoria shook her head, "I have a lot to make amends for I know that. Kate forgave me so quickly I sort of forgot about everything I did to stake my claim to Blackwell. To show that I was the Queen of the Vortex."

"Max has forgiven you as well, and I am working on it." Chloe sighed, "So what will happen to you now that you have decided to turn your back on what you were told to be? Has a demon ever done that before?"

"I don't know if a demon has done it before, but then again no demon has ever been bound to a mortal as pure as Kate." Victoria smiled, "As for what will become of me that is my choice at least until other demons start to come after me to make me pay for my treasonous ways."

"You are putting yourself at risk just to save Max aren't you?" Chloe stopped and pulled Victoria into a hug, "Thank you so much."

"I had to do it." Victoria hugged Chloe back and said, "Just like how I had to fight Beatrice and Eleanor."

"You know what I take back what I said." Chloe nodded, "That shit is all just water under the bridge and if anyone tries to talk trash about you I will shut them up."

"So we are friends now?"

"Not yet, but damn close."

They stepped back outside into a snowless valley and as expected a small army of demons dressed in thick fur outfits wielding glaives, and giant cleavers was waiting for them. Chloe pulled her gun back out as another demon riding on the back of a tusked bear-like creature pushed through the crowd. They were completely covered in heavy cloth and furs and they spoke in a low voice, "I was waiting for you to get here."

Chloe raised her gun and stepped away from Victoria when her hands burst into flame, "We aren't going to let you stop us."

"Wait," They beast rider let go of their chain reins and pulled back their hood and lowered their scarf to reveal that they were in fact Max, "Sorry I thought you recognized my voice."

"Max?" Victoria looked at the demons as they lowered their weapons, "How?"

Max climbed down of the back of the beast and scratched it behind its ear before walking over to Chloe. She touched Chloe’s cheek gently with her gloved hand and teared up as she said, "Chloe, I am so happy to see you again."

Chloe laughed and gave Max a kiss on the forehead, "You are talking like it has been a lifetime."

Max laughed nervously and said, "Yeah...I will explain back at Stormdown."

\------

Kate watched the fissure scar over with obsidian like a bad wound and looked at Rachel who was telling Svetlana about a small blue songbird and smiled when the bird hopped over to Rachel's outstretched hand, "How did you do that?"

"Hypnotism." Rachel smiled and let the bird fly away, "Works on certain people as well but I don't like doing that."

"So..." Kate fidgeted, "What do we do now?"

"That is a good question." Rachel started to walk and said, "Without Max and Chloe around I fear I may get bored."

"Well I know we haven't ever hung out, but..."

"You want to be friends." Rachel smiled, "Hmm....I am not sure if that will work with us. I don't even understand how you and Victoria work to be honest and now that spell that had bound you together is gone I wonder how long it will be before she reverts back to her original self."

"She and I are doing great." Kate crossed her arms, "I am sorry but you are just not being nice. Just because Max and Chloe are not here doesn't give you the right to say mean stuff. What would Max or Chloe do if they heard you?"

"Hit a sore spot I see." Rachel sighed, "This is actually something you are worried about."

"Victoria is a good person." Kate started to walk toward Rachel, "I saw it before we were bound, I saw it when she realized that we were in danger at my aunt's house, I saw it when she put her life on the line to save my sisters and my dad, and I saw it when she chose of her own free will to travel back to the place that abused her and twisted her into what you call a demon."

Rachel backed up and nodded, "Damn...I am sorry. No wonder God said the meek would inherit the Earth. When you get angry you don’t hold anything back."

"I...I am sorry, but I just couldn't hold back." Kate sighed and looked down with embarrassment, "I love Victoria so much and I can't stand it when others judge people using only their own opinions and baseless rumors. That kind of idiocy can ruin lives."

Rachel stepped out of the trees and noticed that there were a lot of students standing who were just staring up at the sky and when she looked up she saw why. The moon was far closer than it should have been and it had moved in front of the sun creating a blood red sky.

"This is bad." Rachel handed Svetlana to Kate and slapped a dude holding a football to see if he would react and when he didn't said, "They are completely comatose."

"Why?"

"Not sure but this is close enough to a doomsday situation that I say let's go find Joyce and then go find your family and get the hell out of town."

"Hang on we need to find Dana and Juliet as well." Kate started to run toward the dorms, "We will need their cars."

"I thought you said we had three..."

Kate turned back to see that Rachel had fallen to her knees and was clawing at the ground, "What is wrong?"

"I don't know." Rachel threw up a black ooze and screamed has her finger nails turned into talons, "Fucking shit it hurts."

Kate ran to her and grabbed her to try and help her up but then Rachel started to glow in a faint gold light and returned to normal, "What was that?"

"The weird as glowing or the other shit?" Rachel shook her head, "If you are talking about the latter I think I was losing control of myself. The former I think was you."

Kate flashed back to when Victoria's barriers started to glow during the fight with her mom and said, "Victoria said I have natural magic. I think it pulled you back."

"Well thanks for that." Rachel shook again, "But that if I was losing control of myself then that would mean everyone in Arcadia that is like me or Chloe will be losing control. I don't think this is Jefferson. I think this is the Exiles."

"Did everyone schedule their doomsday plans for the same weekend?"

Rachel laughed at the unexpected joke and said, "Come one let's get people out of here."

They split up to find everyone who hadn't gone comatose on the first two floors which in the end turned out to be only a few before going up to their floor to find Dana, who was pounding on Juliet's door.

Rachel walked over and said, "What is going on?"

"We were looking over bridal pictures when she just flipped out and ran out of the room." Dana started to cry, "I thought we had gotten past all that bullshit."

"I just need you to go." Juliet said on the other side of the door, "Please just go."

Rachel looked at Kate and then to Svetlana as she said, "Back up and I will deal with this."

Kate nodded and took Dana by the hand to get her away from the door. "Do it."

Rachel nodded and slammed her fist through the wood before tearing off the hinges causing Dana to scream. "I will..."

Juliet came out of the room with a blanket wrapped around her and said, "I don't know what is happening but I can't let you see me like this. Please just go."

Dana watched Rachel as she sat the door aside and took a deep breath before pulling down the blanket covering Juliet's head revealing her hair had turned silver and her eyes had turned red but more changes were happening even as she tried to hide herself again, "What is happening?"

Rachel looked Juliet over and motioned for Kate to come over as well, "Do for her what you did for me."

Kate nodded and touched Juliet causing her to glow and turn back to normal, "There you are fine now."

"But what was that?" Dana kissed Juliet on the forehead, "And how did Rachel tear the door off the hinges?"

"Well I am a vampire." Rachel looked Juliet over, "And as far as I can tell Juliet is human, but there must be a trace of something in your blood."

"You are a..." Dana looked at Svetlana, "Then whose baby is that really?"

"Ours as in me, Max and Chloe." Rachel smiled, "But she was once a fully grown adult with a love of long range weapons that Max turned into a baby with her time powers. If you want a full explanation it will have to wait. We are going to get as many people out of town that we can."

Dana pulled Juliet close and nodded, "How can we help?"

"We already sent some people outside." Rachel took Svetlana from Kate, "Get them to their cars and wait on us. I need to get some supplies."

"We will try to make them listen." Juliet took a deep breath, "Thank you Kate for whatever you did."

Kate smiled, "And if I figure out what that was I will explain it to you."

"Doesn't the Bible say something about faith and mustard seeds and moving mountains?" Rachel started toward Max's dorm, "Well that is you."

"Well let's hope we don't have to test that theory on any actual mountains."

"I am like the jokes but your personality is shifting a little." Rachel looked back at Kate, "Is that the moon, your powers, or just you trying to cope doing that?"

"Just me trying to cope." Kate sighed, "I am trying to think like Max."

"So am I...sort of." Rachel smiled, "Right now to keep myself going I am picturing me, Max, and Chloe driving up the coast to Seattle."

Kate nodded and stepped into her room while Rachel went into Max's. She picked up Alice's cage and grabbed her drawing pads along with Victoria's notebooks and met Rachel back in the hall. She had gotten herself a papoose to hold Svetlana and was pulling a wheeled black suitcase behind her.

"What are we going to do if we can't get out of town?"

"We break in and take over the most fortified location in town." Rachel grinned wickedly, "I doubt the FBI will care if we take the Prescott Mansion from them to serve as a shelter."

They ran outside but as they went across the main campus Samuel came running up to them and said, "Rachel where is Max?"

"She is in Hell at the moment." Rachel looked at Samuel suspiciously, "So you are Odin?"

"I am just Samuel now and we need Max." Samuel shook his head, "They got her. The Exiles got Adeline and soon they will have the Lady of the Moon."


	15. Chapter 15

Rachel fixed up the gate to the Prescott Mansion the best she could and looked up at the sky as it started to snow and said, "It is getting colder by the minute."

"This will continue until they breach the barrier between our realm and the realm of the gods." Samuel came over, "We have to save Adeline before that happens."

Rachel shook her head, "But can't you just go all Odin on them and save her?"

"I gave what little power I had left to Max so that her powers wouldn't kill her."

"Wait...Max never told us about that." Rachel held up her hand, "She said she underwent a ritual to gain control of her powers but she just said she had to get high and dream walk but she never said she became a goddess."

"She is still human, but divinity courses through her veins."

"Explains the sexy confidence boost she got overnight." Rachel laughed, "What about that David douche that threatened us? Can he help?"

"A mortal warrior chained to his past by regrets, and chased by ghosts of people he couldn't save." Samuel shook his head, "He is capable of much but not of this. We need Max."

"Kate has natural magic." Rachel noticed something moving in the trees and let out a sigh of relief when she saw it was just a deer. "She hasn't any control of it yet but she is powerful."

"Her time has not yet come." Samuel smiled, "We will have time and we just have to wait for Max."

"We actually don't have that much time." Rachel shook her head and started to walk back to the mansion, "But you know that I think. You know all about Jefferson."

"Cast from the light and meant to rot in the dark. Meant to be forgotten, but instead found a way to claw his way out and into a host just as twisted as him."

"Wait are you saying that Jefferson isn't actually the Fallen but the Fallen is in him?"

Samuel nodded, "He was planning on moving on to Nathan. A perfect host crafted after decades of deals and rituals only to be stolen from him by the ever flowing river of time."

"So not actually as big of a threat as he seems?"

"Not one that you need to worry about."

"Well that is good, but he still wants to wipe Arcadia Bay off the map." Rachel opened the door to the mansion and let Samuel walk in first, "Maybe that is what we need to do. Let's back off and let them fight it out."

"Arcadia needs to survive." Samuel looked around at the people they had rescued from around town, "If not for them then for those that will come after. This place exists as a haven for all find it. People like me, people like you, and people like them."

"I..." Rachel sighed and waved at Kate before saying, "I am going to take the van and see if anyone who was comatose has woke up, and I might loot the grocery store to build up our supplies here."

"I will help." Kate nodded, "Dana and Juliet are taking care of Svetlana, and don't worry. I told them a little about her being a weretiger."

"Oh she has a magic bracelet to keep her from changing." Rachel looked at Samuel, "Someone gave it to David to give to us even though he could have just gave it to us himself."

"That was a gift from another that Max found common ground with in the past." Samuel smiled, "I will go help Joyce and Richard."

Rachel smiled and said, "I think your dad and Chloe's mom are finding some common ground themselves."

"Please don't." Kate shook her head, "I don't want to imagine my dad flirting."

"Pretty soon you might be able to call Chloe your big sister." Rachel laughed, "Hey if we tell Chloe that they are it might distract her from being pissed at me for not listening."

"We are in a fortress." Kate smiled, "I think it is good compromise given the situation with the wreckage on the roads."

Rachel was about to leave when Vic ran over to them and started to jump up and down frantically. She looked at her and said, "I just got to say that out everything this thing still freaks me out."

"She is a goblin not a thing." Kate knelt down and gave Vic a quarter, "And she wants to us to follow her."

Rachel started to follow Kate and Vic and said, "So you don't find it at all weird to have a little version of your girlfriend running around?"

"Well not everyone can see her." Kate smiled, "And she is very helpful."

"Still weird."

Rachel and Kate followed Vic downstairs through the kitchen entrance to the wine cellar and then down another flight of stairs behind an open hidden door into the Prescott bunker. Vic ran over to a shelfing unit full of canned food and started to jump around again.

"Is she say that she is hungry?"

"No, she is trying to tell us that there is something behind this." Kate walked over and said, "I don't see a switch or..."

Rachel grabbed the shelfing unit and tore it open. The locks snapped and the door fell off its track with a loud thud. "Oh it was supposed to slide open."

Kate shook her head and walked into the room causing the lights to flicker on revealing that it was a Prescott altar and armory. Besides guns there were also swords, maces, axes, and explosives. "What were they getting ready for?"

"This." Rachel shook her head, "They knew that the end was coming and they prepared for it. Only they didn't prepare for the IRS and the FBI. Wait...What if it is all tied together?"

"What?"

"Everything." Rachel shook her head, "Jefferson could have created the Exiles but when he lost control of the Prescotts he could have also lost control of his cult. Or he lost control before all of this and his big threat to you and him taking Max could just be him trying to regain some of that control."

"So he wants her to go back and give him the power he lost by the change in history?" Kate shook her head, "Sounds farfetched but I guess that is possible."

"Or he is throwing the demonic equivalent of a temper tantrum."

They walked out of the bunker and Rachel propped the door back up the best she could before they went back upstairs. Rachel noticed that the snow was falling harder and decided it was better for Kate if they didn't go out and after talking to Samuel about the room she flew up to the roof to keep watch. She watched the stars come out and said to them, "If any gods or if the God is up there listening please bring Max and Chloe back. I need them."

\------

Chloe was stunned to see what Max had done in the three years that she was stuck in hell. Stormdown was fortress carved out of a black spire with a small town growing around it. "Max this is..."

"It wasn't all me." Max smiled, "At first I had Eleanor but she gave her life during the War of Ruined Nations in a brutal battle against Satan."

Victoria shook her head and said, "I don't understand. How did you unite the savages?"

"They were never savage." Max shook her head, "They were some of the first humans to become demons. People from the stone age, and hominids that lost the war of dominance to homo-sapiens."

"And you made them this?"

"They were always this." Max sighed, "But the Lords of Hell always destroyed their communities before they could truly take shape. Me and Eleanor came to this one while trying to find a secret exit and got involved in one of Satan's attacks against them. One thing led to the next and well..."

"But your powers shouldn't work here." Victoria shook her head, "Time shouldn't exist here."

"That was never true." Max shook her head, "You were not allowed to perceive the flow of time. Just like you were not allowed to know choice, or the futility of your plans."

"What do you mean?"

"Why is there only seven Lords of Hell?" Max smiled, "It is because they always eliminate the competition. This place is a prison and it is run by prison rules. The strongest gangs run the place and the rest are prey. If you would have started moving in on their turf they would have eliminated you. Why do you think they bonded you to Kate? They were hoping to have her kill you and corrupt herself in the process."

"Or they knew I would eventually run into Eleanor and Beatrice." Victoria shook her head, "How did you learn all of this?"

"In the Realm of Lost Knowledge." Max smiled, "Cthulu allowed me to enter his realm so that I could figure out what Jefferson was."

Chloe shook her head, "And what did you learn?"

"That he is nothing more than a host." Max sighed, "The Fallen took his form like the monster from the Thing and is now in search of a better host."

"Which was going to be Nathan."

"You are figuring it out." Max looked at Victoria who was obviously plotting, "What is eating at you, Victoria?"

"Nothing important. I will open a portal for us now." Victoria touched a nearby door and pressed so hard that it fell off its hinges. "What the fuck?"

"I should have told you about that, but there isn't any way out right now." Max rubbed the back her neck, "And that is my fault. Eleanor wanted me to go on and leave with her but when I found out about Cthulu's realm I figured it would be smart to at least leave with some answers, but he didn't want me to leave. He wanted me to become his servant and when I refused he shut down all the ways out."

Chloe rubbed the back of her neck, "What about the secret exit? Did you ever discover it?"

"It is too dangerous." Max bit her lip, "First we have to go to Cthulu's realm because he took the door and if can get past him then we have to make it through the Void and..."

"Abaddon!" Victoria punched the wall, "We will be devoured before we make it ten feet."

"Then why don't we lure Cthulu through the door and while he is being eaten climb onto whatever Abaddon is and ride them to the exit."

"That is the most insane thing I have ever heard." Victoria looked at Max, "Fuck it. I need to get back to Kate and get out of this place."

Max nodded, "I have to tell my friends here that I am leaving but once that is done we will head out."

Chloe smiled, "I am coming with you. I want to meet these demon friends of yours."

"I will wait for you by the gate." Victoria looked around, "This place makes me uncomfortable."

They split up and Max gave Chloe a quick tour of Stormdown including the blacksmith, the barracks, the hellhound pens, and the brimstone steamworks before heading inside the main fortress to her private chamber so that she could pack up her stuff.

Chloe walked around the room to look at the pictures on the walls and said, "You still took pictures."

"Until I ran out of film." Max took down a picture of Eleanor and said, "Some of these will stay behind, but I am keeping the ones of the friends I made. So many of them are no longer with us."

"So Eleanor sacrificed herself to take down Satan." Chloe smiled, "How that happen?"

"We blew apart Satan's Citadel and as it fell he burst out of the rubble. His black wings spread wide, and his body seething with purple flames. He plunged toward us and Eleanor met him with a bolt of lightning the tangled and tore at each other before she got the upper hand and pierced his chest with a blacksteel spear." Max frowned, "She died in my arms. I wanted to use my powers to bring her back like I did with you but she asked me not to. What do you think happens if a demon dies like that? She had found peace at the end and had started to atone."

"I don't know." Chloe shook her head and started to help Max pack up, "You have been through a lot haven't you."

"More than I care to talk about." Max took a glaive off the wall that looked like it had been carved from a horn, "I always knew that if I couldn't find a way out that you would come for me. I dreamed about that a lot. You and Rachel tearing through hordes of demons just to save me. It kept me going."

Chloe wrapped her arms around Max and kissed her on the neck. "I swear to you it was only an hour on Earth. We rushed to get things together and Rachel wanted to come as well. I made her stay behind to watch over Svetlana and Kate."

Max turned around in Chloe's arms and hugged her tightly, "I got what I need. Let's get home."

Chloe gasped and said, "You have gotten stronger as well."

"Three years of hardship will do that to a person." Max shook her head, "I am not keeping them though. I prefer the pudge that comes from eating my favorite junk foods and hating on exercise."

"I will take you anyway you are."

"Good answer." Max kissed Chloe again, "Come on we can't keep Victoria waiting."


	16. Chapter 16

Max yelled as she was knocked back through the portal and saw that she was high above the ground. For a moment she was free of gravity but then took hold of her and she started to plummet. As the ground grew closer she closed her eyes to prepare for the inevitable but didn't hit. She was grabbed by a rush of wind and found herself cradled tightly in Rachel's arms.

Moments later more portals tore open to expel Chloe and Victoria from the Void. Chloe landed in a nearby tree and Victoria was shot up into the air by her portal but landed on her feet like cat followed by a swarm of mindflayers and lost souls.

Max jumped out of Rachel's arms and started to fight off the mindflayers with her glaive to give Victoria the time to cast a spell to send everything that should be back from where they came before gathering all the fire she could and sending it through the remaining portal to destroy the altar on the other side.

After it was all over Chloe dropped out of the tree she was in and jogged over as she said, "Well to be honest that plan was working until that Nazi showed up."

Victoria shot Chloe a look before looking up at the sky and saying, "Why is the sky red? We didn't do that did we?"

"I don't think so." Max looked at Rachel and realized they were outside of the Prescott Mansion, "What is going on Rachel?"

"Yeah I told you to get out of town if anything happened." Chloe crossed her arms, "Why are you still here?"

"Let's go inside and I will explain." Rachel shook her head and pulled Chloe and Max into a group hug, "I am so glad you are okay."

Max gave Rachel a kiss on the cheek and as she was let out of the hug and said, "I missed you as well."

"Wow you..." Rachel started to fidget, "I thought the kisses were only for Chloe."

Chloe gave Rachel a kiss on the other cheek and said, "Well now I guess they are for all of us."

"Cute, but what is going on."

"Right." Rachel took Chloe's and Max's hands, "Let's go inside."

They went inside and found Kate reading her story to some kids before heading upstairs to the master bedroom to talk about everything. Max told them about how Eleanor pulled her out of Jefferson's realm and into Hell, about how she spent the first week living in a cave before finding a way into Cthulu's realm, and about how she traveled across Hell in search of the secret exit from Hell. She told them how she had to learn to fight to keep from being killed by Satan's soldiers, and how she helped build her own army out of the scattered tribes.

Then Chloe and Victoria got to tell their parts about how they forcefully broke into Cthulu's realm with Max's army in search of the door he had hidden and how about an army of demons led by Nazi demon broke in the conflict creating a massive shit show that provided them the distraction they needed to get to the door but weren't able to ride Abaddon as expected so they went with Chloe's second plan which was using one of the triremes floating through the stacks in Cthulu's realm to just sail across the writhing sea of souls.

They decided to skip past the parts when the Nazi demon and Cthulu followed them to try and get to the backdoor before them causing the lost souls to cling to their ships while Abaddon ate Cthulu, as in the only part that went to plan.

When she was done and once she answered all the questions her friends had for her Kate and Rachel explained what had happened in the five hours they were in hell with the weird sky, people with powers losing control of themselves, and how they did try to leave town but the roads were blocked by car wrecks so instead they helped Richard find anyone who wasn't comatose and bring them to the mansion.

Max finished stripping off the last of the furs she was wearing so that she was just wearing her silk tunic and leather pants and noticed that everyone was staring at her, "What I have been in Hell for three years and I am just a little older and fitter that I was before I went in."

Kate laughed softly and said, "So that Nazi demon. Was he a Nazi turned into a demon or..."

"He was a demon that was so obsessed with the Third Reich he decided to model his realm after it." Victoria shook her head, "I guess this should be where I say that the actions of man are more evil than the actions of hell but that seems more like an excuse to justify the extinction of mankind and that is bullshit."

Kate pulled Victoria into a kiss and said, "I love you."

Max laughed and looked at Samuel as he walked in, "So I guess you are here to tell us it is time for us to face down with the Exiles? Can I get some time with Svetlana first? I need to hold her and look at her face."

"We can spare a few moments." Samuel nodded, "Go to your daughter and I will warm up my jeep."

"Thank you." Max hugged Samuel, "And it is nice to see you again as well."

"Hell breaks all but the strongest hearts." Samuel smiled, "It is nice to see you again as well."

Max snuck down the hall to where Dana and Juliet's room and was immediately jumped by them, "Rachel told you?"

"Kate." Dana sat back down and rubbed her stomach, "They have been kicking like crazy since all this started."

"You aren't..."

"In labor." Dana shook her head, "Not yet, but I think I am getting close."

"So how is Svetlana doing?" Max walked over to the fancy crib they must have dug out of the Prescott's basement and looked at Svetlana who was also wearing the fanciest baby clothes she had ever seen. "She looks adorable."

"When she is sleeping." Juliet shook her head, "I think she was missing you."

Max kissed tips of her index and ring fingers before pressing them to Svetlana's forehead, "Do you mind watching her for just a little while more? Samuel needs me to help him with something."

"Of course we don't mind." Juliet looked at Dana, "This has just made me realize how much I want to be a mother. I have always felt a little overwhelmed but it is a good kind of overwhelmed. The kind of overwhelmed when you know your family is planning a big party for you or when you win something."

Dana wrapped her arm around Juliet and kissed her on the cheek, "Just make sure you make it back. You seem different. Determined, and fearless."

"That would take more time than even I am capable manipulating to explain."

"What?" Dana shook her head, "That must be something Kate didn't explain."

"Well if you want to know I will tell you later."

Max hugged Dana and Juliet once more and walked outside with a smile on her face. Everyone was waiting for them by Samuel's jeep and she climbed into the back with Chloe and Rachel. They wrapped their arms around her and she decided to enjoy the moment by resting her eyes.

\------

The first they they noticed as jeep pushed through the barrier hiding the Clan's village from the rest of the world was the dead guards. They had been shot as had most of the people in town but there were others that looked like they had been tossed around by a tornado. As they crossed the bridge to the Longhouse they felt the air grow heavy.

Max looked at Kate and Victoria before looking back at the village. The longhouse's location gave her the best view of the carnage and she raised up her hand. Within moments the bodies started to glow one by one until the entire village was glowing. She shut her fist and staggered back into Chloe's arms and said, "Kate and Victoria can you stay out here and figuring out which people are Clan and which ones are Exiles. The confusion won't last and I don't want them to start killing each other again."

"We will do our best to keep them from tearing each other apart." Kate was trying her best to seem calm but was failing, "Be careful in there."

Max nodded and followed Rachel and Chloe into the longhouse. It had been set up the same way as it was when undertook the ritual only this time Adeline was hanging from the shackles between two obelisks with David tied to a chair nearby with gashes up his arms and across his throat.

"Max," Jefferson's voice boomed from the shadows as he stepped forward, "You finally escaped Hell. I was beginning to wonder if you weren't planning to just take it over as your own private kingdom, but no you just left it to fall to chaos as demons fight for the realms you left vacant."

Max backed up so that she was standing between Rachel and Chloe, "So you are behind the Exiles."

"I may have helped their leader, but then he did this and I could not just abide their existence any longer." Jefferson laughed, "They wanted to create a world were abominations like your lovers ruled and humans served as prey. A brilliant plan but not mine so I stopped them for you."

"You are planning to take the Lady of the Moon's power for yourself now aren't you?" Max glared at Jefferson as the shadows in the room writhed, "Rachel was right. You don't have no real power. You got your little shadow trick but that is all really. Without the Prescotts or the Exiles you are nothing."

"I...."

Jefferson was cut off by a loud bang and Chloe stepped forward with her gun raised and emptied it into him before tossing it aside and using her fists. She kept going until Jefferson's shadow tossed her back and he raised his face to show that the bullet that had hit his left cheek had left a smoldering crater.

"That is enough!" Jefferson screamed with desperation, "You creatures think that you are so important that God cared about you, but they never did. They never cared about any of their creations."

"We care about each other and that is what matters." Max raised her hand and restored Adeline and David, "Maybe that is all God ever intended for us to do."

Jefferson screamed, "If you truly believe that you can stop me find me at lighthouse. I will show you how useless everything you have done is and how much power I truly have."

Max let out sigh of relief when Jefferson melt back into the shadows and helped Rachel and Chloe free David and Adeline. Outside Kate and Victoria were talking with people and when the villagers saw Adeline they started to cheer.

Adeline held up her hands and said, "What happened today has left no reason to celebrate. We survived thanks to the efforts of these Warriors of the Moon, but we almost died at the hands of people who should have been a part of our family. That is what I am offering now to any and all Exiles that have not yet left this place. Forgiveness and Family if you so wish to have it."

Max looked around and could see some people standing away from the others but after a few moments of them talking in hushed whispers they walked over and joined the crowd. She smiled and walked over to Samuel as she said, "It is almost over. Can you take us to the lighthouse?"

"Jefferson?"

"Yes."

Samuel nodded, "Just remember that there are somethings that can't be changed by you alone. Your powers can only go so far."


	17. Chapter 17

Max watched the waters in the Bay recede and tried not to think about what that meant as she walked up the path to the lighthouse. Jefferson was sitting on the bench and melted into the shadows as they approached just so that he could reappear in front of them and with a jar with what looked like a storm trapped inside in his right hand.

"This could have been avoided if not for Max." Jefferson looked at Max, "If she hadn't decided to treat time like her personal play thing."

Victoria shed her human form and threw a ball of fire at Jefferson as she said, "Will you shut up and just fuck off to whatever pit you dragged yourself out of?"

"You think I am afraid of you?" Jefferson laughed and shattered the jar so that he could play with the storm inside, "You think my threats were hollow but they were not. They were promises."

"What is the point of this?" Max stepped forward, "You have lost so why keep going?"

"I have my reasons." Jefferson took a bite from his wrist and let the black sludge that started to ooze from the wound mix with the storm before setting it free. "Poor thing has been waiting as long as I have for this. Most of the time miasmas just wither away and are forgotten but with my help it is going to become a maelstrom. An act of kindness in the past to create untold death in the present."

Max watched lightning arc across the clouds as it began to rain and yelled as she charged only to get knocked back by a wall of shadows as even more poured over the ground and had to retreat as shadow people with flames for eyes rose up. She tried to cut through them with Chloe and Rachel's help but no matter how many they cut down more came back.

Then Max heard Kate scream and could only watch in horror as a black tendril dragged her to the edge of the cliff and threw her over with Victoria jumping after her seconds later. She raised her hand to try and turn back time but before she could Jefferson grabbed her by the throat and broke her arm before tossing her at Chloe, who turned back into her human form to catch her.

\------

Kate screamed as the tendril grabbed her ankle and didn't have a chance to do more than yell before she was thrown off the cliff. The ocean was racing toward her but then she felt Victoria pull her close and time seemed to stop for them. She pressed her forehead against Victoria's and closed her eyes as she prayed.

A bright light swelled up inside her and before she had time to comprehend what was happen she was moving upward with Victoria still held tightly in her arms. As her mind caught up with what was happening she realized that she had wings. Beautiful golden wings that were made of light and she was glowing as brightly as the sun.

She descend slowly onto the cliff burning away the shadows and looked to Jefferson who was retreating in terror but with no shadows to escape into he was trapped by her light. She stepped forward and the wings reformed into a sword and said, "Promise me that you will leave and never return. Promise that and I will show you mercy."

"Fuck you." Jefferson looked at the clouds as they descended as a massive tornado, "The town is dead now and you can't stop it. I told you that you would be the death of everyone you loved."

Kate thrust the sword through Jefferson's chest and said, "This over!"

Jefferson started to laugh as his body turned to ash and said, "My death will break the first seal."

Kate backed away as the light started to fade and she fell into Victoria's arms as her body started to give out from exhaustion, "You jumped off a cliff for me."

"And you saved us." Victoria turned to the tornado as it started to gather power and grow in size, "But we aren't done yet."

\------

Max staggered to the edge of the cliff as the storm made landfall and raised her arm despite the pain and tried to rewind time, but the storm was too much and it broke free of her. She screamed in frustration as she tried again but it wouldn't work. She watched the storm tear apart the town and said, "We failed."

"No!" Kate walked over and took Max's good hand causing Max's butterfly tattoo to glow with a gold light, "Try again."

Max nodded and tried to push back the storm again but even with Kate's added power they were unable to stop it. "It is feeding on us. The more we try to stop it the stronger it becomes."

"Then don't try to stop it." Victoria came over and took hold of Kate's free hand, "Try to turn back time on the town. I might be able to use your time powers to create a time loop if we work together."

Max nodded and focused on the town causing the buildings to glow but even that was failing until Chloe and Rachel came up behind her and place a hand on each of her shoulders. She could feel their love surging through her and before she realized what was happening they were all engulfed in a blinding blue flash.

When it faded Max found herself at the Two Whales sharing a booth with Chloe and Rachel, who had Svetlana on her lap. On the table in front of them was a map of the west coast and from the place of the condiments it seemed like they were planning a big trip. She rubbed her arm and found that it was no longer broken and that her muscles were gone. She had somehow lost the three years she had spent in hell.

Chloe looked at her and then to Joyce who was definitely flirting with Richard at the counter instead of taking orders, "What did we do?"

Max looked at the door as Victoria and Kate walked in and made room for them on her side of the booth as she said, "So did it work? Is this the time loop?"

"For everyone except us." Victoria looked around, "The last week never happened and starting tomorrow everyone will be able to enjoy a six days before it all resets back. As soon as we break this loop though the storm will return so we need to figure out how to stop it before then."

"What Jefferson said before he died also bugs me." Kate fidgeted, "His death breaks the first seal. Did I set off the apocalypse?"

"Jefferson was liar so don't believe what he said." Rachel smiled, "I should know seeing how I am the queen of the liars."

Max sighed and said, "Well at least now we know what we need to do. Arcadia is safe for now and we can take a break for a little while to recuperate before we move onto the next war."

"I say we go ahead with our original plans before they were ruined by everything." Chloe smiled, "I still want to go to Seattle to see your parents and take a tour of your favorite art museums."

"Me and Kate were planning to do a tea shop tour of Portland."

"Then it is settled." Chloe nodded, "First we reward ourselves for getting this far and then we deal with the rest of this bullshit."

Rachel picked up an empty coffee mug from the booth behind them and held it up as she said, "To the troubles we put behind us and the troubles still on the horizon."

Max raised her glass and watched as Kate and Victoria held up the salt and pepper shakers before saying in Hellion, "The ice may blister our skin and the lightning may shatter our bones but we will continue on stronger than ever."

Chloe laughed and raised her glass, "To whatever my girlfriend said. I love you, Max."

After the toasts they pushed it all to the back of their minds and let peace settle over them. They talked about their plans for their trips and even may plans to take a trip all together to Washington D.C. They knew that it wasn't going to last so they made most of the moment while they could.


End file.
